


Beside The Dying Fire

by deepestfathoms



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst and Feels, Blood and Injury, Childbirth, Death, DnD AU, Family Dynamics, Family Issues, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Katherine Howard Centric, Magic, POV Katherine Howard, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pregnancy, Sexual Harassment, Soft Catherine of Aragon, Survival, Swordfighting, Team as Family, Violence, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:55:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 36,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27067504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deepestfathoms/pseuds/deepestfathoms
Summary: Katherine Howard, wood elf and alleged "princess" of her village, never thought she would get to be a hero that stopped a war.
Comments: 23
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, this fic is set in the tour!verse, so instead of Aimie!Kat or Sophie!Kat, this is Jodie!Kat! She’s older and more motherly and strong than them!

Mud slopped around her ankles as the late afternoon rain pattered off waxed robes and soaks into the churned forest field. The woods around this area were shrouded in thick mist, too dense to see, so Katherine scrambled up a nearby tree, moving slowly but carefully, swinging higher until she could see clearly around her. Something about being high up relaxed her, even as she surveyed the land. 

War had ravaged the territory outside her province. Straight ahead, thick, billowing tendrils of dark grey smoke twisted high into the air, evidence of another battle fought. She wondered how many died this time. 

To the right, the distant city, Orkpool. The people there were heavily influenced by the celestial gods, too much so for Katherine’s personal taste. 

And to the left, a wall of dark clouds bearing heavy rainfall. The soft grey sky was already being consumed in its mass. The forest would be replenished with its water.

Katherine paced over the stretch of winding tree branches, watching the surrounding perimeter closely. Her village was much too soft to be on guard duty, as they didn’t really believe in violence, so she decided to step up and make sure no threats were trying to come in. With the war going on, they could never be too safe. Her father didn’t seem to understand that no matter how many times she spelled it out for him.

Sighing, Katherine ran her fingertips over the length of the bow strapped to her back. It was made of soft birch wood and carved with small knobs and pointy bits, perfect for her hands. When she first got it when she was just a teenager, she had fantasized about defending the entire village with just the weapon alone, sending down a barrage of arrows down on the enemies and wiping them out with a single attack. 

But now she’s almost thirty and she doesn’t really feel like much of a hero.

She had spent her entire life cooped up in the forest. And it wasn’t that she didn’t like Ghent, she did, she just wished for more freedom to explore. But after the death of her mother, her father tightened the security of the village. Nobody leaves and nobody comes in without an intense security check. Well, at least they moved past killing anyone on sight- now THAT would have caused a war just by itself.

Rustling came to Katherine’s left and she turned, spotting a squirrel munching away on some berries a few feet away. She crouched down, slipping her bow off of her back. She knocked an arrow and aimed for the animal’s heart, hoping to take it out with one shot. It would make an excellent snack for her friend.

Arms muscles tingling with the strength of drawing back the string, Katherine exhaled a breath and--

“KATHERINE!!!!”

The arrow flew into the tree trunk, and the squirrel shrieked in fright and took off into the underbrush. Katherine growled in frustration and swung her head down to the young man standing below the tree she was in.

It was Elan, an Wood Elf like her, but several years younger. He had chords of ivy woven in his oak brown hair, and his dumb hazel deer eyes were blinking in confusion.

“Oh. Were you hunting?” He said obliviously. “Sorry!”

Katherine rolled her eyes and hopped across the branches to retrieve her arrow. When she hopped down from the tree, Elan looked nervous.

“You shouldn’t jump from that height,” He said, as worried as always. “What if you break your ankles? Or your leg? Then what shall we do?”

“Not leave me out here to die, I hope,” Katherine said, gliding past him. He jumped and hurried after her, skittering like a baby deer that lagged behind its herd. “And this wouldn’t be such a problem if we set up an actual guard post. Then we can have proper ladders AND security.”

Elan actually wrinkled his nose at that prospect. “I prefer having everyone in the village. It’s safer that way. Especially for you, princess.”

Katherine struggled to suppress a groan. She hated that she was considered a “princess”, when their village couldn’t even rank to a real kingdom. Just because she was the chief’s daughter didn’t mean she was anything special.

“I told you to not call me that, Elan.” Katherine chided.

Elan fumbled. “I-I know, but--”

“No buts. Don’t call me princess. It’s just weird.”

Katherine whisked past him quickly, breaking through a threshold of braided willow curtains to enter into her village.

Ghent was a marvelous forest city made of hunts and tents and tree houses. A winding river wove through the territory, burbling several spring deposits near the many shops and apothecaries. Colorful flowers bloomed like starbursts from house to house, making the place seem more like home and less like a prison that you weren’t really allowed to leave. Elves and fauns and satyrs and a few cat-folk mulled around, shopping or eating or selling their wares. A certain faun with speckled brown fur like an axis deer, bounded up to her and happily strummed a lute.

“There she is!” The faun chirped in a singsong voice. “The princess has returned! The city is saved!”

Katherine shoved the faun playfully. “Oh, shut up, Anne. And don’t call me princess!”

“Uh oh, princess is getting feisty!” Said another voice from behind.

Katherine whirled around to see a smirking satyr standing there. Her fur was a deep russet brown color, contrasting her lighter brown hair, and her body was held with great strength. This particular satyr always had an abundance of smugness, which she didn’t care to hide. Like right now.

“There’s my partner in crime!” Anne trotted over to the satyr. 

“Ran off again?” Maggie asked Katherine. “You disobeyed your father. I like it.” She smirked even wider.

Katherine shook her head. “Someone has to. We need to stay safe.”

“We are safe,” Anne said. “Don’t worry so much.” And then, to completely contradict her words, “Oh, by the way, that orc lady is back.”

Katherine groaned. Of course.

After just a brief moment of scanning the area, she spotted the half-orc sitting by a small campfire and chewing on some dried deer strips, sticking out like a sore thumb in the village.

EB was a mountain of a woman thanks to her orc blood. She had dull, greyish-green skin, matted dark brown hair, and a terrible under and overbite, with the sharp canines almost overlapping each other. Her upper body was scrawled with inky black tattoos of things Katherine didn’t understand, and her face, neck, and chest were marred with several scars in various stages of healing. The most recent seemed to be a stab wound in her shoulder, dressed in a dirty bandage that looked like it needed to be changed. When Katherine walked over, she stood up, towering over the usually very tall wood elf.

“Elizabeth,” Katherine said.

“It’s EB,” The half-orc rumbled, and her voice was deep and biting. Up close, her face looked like it was set in an expression of permanent rage. “I’ve told you that many times before.”

“My apologies,” Katherine said. “EB. Why have you returned to my village?”

“I am once again asking your people to join us in our fight,” EB said. She slipped a scroll out of her crumpled satchel and thrust it into Katherine hand’s. The paper was stained by rainwater, mud, and droplets of dried blood that had seeped through the leather of her bag. “Henry will not be asking again.”

“It’s about time,” Katherine said, nothing bothering to open up the declaration. “I’ve given him the same answer three times now. I’m glad he finally took the hint.” 

She tried to hand the scroll back, but EB didn’t take it. She just glared. Her fingers twitched like she wanted to grab the massive ax on her back and slice Katherine’s head in two.

“You don’t have a choice.” EB said.

“This is not our fight.” Katherine deflected. “I’m not putting my village in danger just because of some petty war. And for what? What exactly are you people fighting for?”

EB faltered for a moment, letting her guard down for just a second. She blinked her flashing flash eyes, then gathered herself up again, gruffly saying, “You would know if you joined.”

Katherine barked a laugh. “Nice try.”

Once again, EB’s expression twitched, but this time it actually stayed slightly more fearful. She reached out and grabbed Katherine’s forearm with a huge hand, squeezing it tightly.

“Listen,” She hissed softly, urgency in her usually-rude voice. “You all seem like good people. I don’t want you to die. You have better chances surviving in the war than defying what Henry wants. Trust me, I’ve seen what he can do. I’ve had to do horrible things. I don’t want the same thing happening to you.” She gripped tighter until Katherine thought her bone may snap in two pieces. “Please, Just agree. Fight with us.”

Katherine looked up at the huge half-orc and said, “No.”

EB was taken aback. She released Katherine’s arm and stepped away, quickly settling her facial features back into rudeness so as to not break the obvious mask she was having to wear. Then, she snorted.

“You’ve got guts,” The half-orc said. “It’s a shame that they’ll soon be sprawled out all over your village.”

Katherine raised her nose haughtily. “We aren’t as weak as we seem.”

EB eyed her up and down, then said, “I sure hope so.”

Then, she gathered her belongings and stalked out of the village, earning wary looks from civilians as she went. The moment she was out of the willow curtains, Katherine exhaled a shaky breath and rubbed her forehead tiredly. She looked down at the scroll in her hand and worried about what she just got herself into.

“What was that all about?” Maggie asked as she and Anne trotted over.

“Another alignment pact,” Katherine said, showing them the rolled up piece of paper. “I didn’t agree, of course. I don’t want anyone fighting in a war.” Then, softly, “I don’t think half of us would even know how to properly fight.”

Anne tilted her head at the scroll. “Oh dear. Well, at least you saved us! No war for Ghent!” She strummed happily on her lute.

Katherine chuckled lightly, hoping to look on the bright side of things like her distant cousin. She turned to go to her tree house, hopefully to rest up before dinner and--

“OW!!”

That’s right. She had more company. Though, this one she was actually looking forward to seeing.

Katherine walked over to the apothecary hut where the cry originated from and peeked inside. Past the shimmering vials and bubbling cauldrons and various ingredients hanging up, was a straw bed where a young woman laid.

She was an Aasimar of around twenty-three, with glowing golden skin, pupil-less silver eyes, and long, luscious dark brown hair that had glistening yellow feathers growing out from the scalp. She was bold-faced and well-muscled on her arms and neck, and there were patches of golden-white feathers fluffed on her shoulders, where wings would sprout if she commanded them. Despite her nun’s robes, her belly was thick and swollen with pregnancy of around five months. Her frustrated expression brightened when Katherine knelt beside the bed.

“Kat,” She said in relief. “Finally.”

“Sorry, I was out scouting,” Katherine said. She watched as the village’s physician, an old Wood Elf named Faedi, ran her hands over the Aasimar’s stomach. “How are you, Catalina?”

“In hell,” Catalina groaned, slumping her head back on the pillow. “I HATE being pregnant. Faedi says there’s no way to speed this along with ‘hurting the baby.’ What about ME? You know how hard it is to wear armor AND be as fat as a beached whale?”

Katherine chuckled and ran her fingers through Catalina’s hair to soothe her. “You aren’t fat, dear,” She said. “And maybe you shouldn’t wear armor, then?”

Catalina eyed Katherine’s thin frame and rock-hard muscles incredulously. “I am NOT giving up my armor. I already gave up booze. That’s ALL you’re taking from me!”

Katherine laughed, smoothing down some unruly gold feathers on Catalina’s head. “I do hope your baby does not inherit your stubbornness.” She looked at Faedi. “How is the baby?”

“Healthy, Faedi said. “Very active, too, which is good.”

“Keeps kicking me in the fuckin’ ribs,” Catalina grumbled. “Why couldn’t I have slept with, like, a mermaid? I rather lay eggs then deal with this.” She lifted her head to yell at her stomach. “Like, hey, bitch! You aren’t even paying rent! The least you can do is not beat me up!”

Katherine couldn’t help but laugh again. Catalina always knew how to cheer her up, even if she did so without really realizing it. Even now, with risking her life every day for having to hide her pregnancy from the church, she still remained fierce, brave, and courageous. 

“I don’t think laying eggs would be very fun,” Katherine said. “There would be a lot to lay.”

“At least eggs don’t have legs.” Catalina said, then laughed. “Ha. Eggs. Legs. That rhymes. I am hilarious.”

Katherine remembered the first time Catalina showed up in her current state. They had been friends for years, but never before had she seen the young woman look so worried. She had clutched at her middle and begged for an examination, where Faedi had then announced she was with child. Catalina explained to Katherine that she had slept with a sweet man named Arthur, desperately needing to get her mind off of things, but found that he was gone when she woke up the next morning, leaving only his sperm fertilizing her eggs to remember him by. Since then she’s been hiding her pregnancy from the church she worked at, making excuses for morning sickness and mood swings and cravings. But now she looked too far along to hide the bump under several layers of robes.

“It may be best for you to stay in the village until you deliver,” Faedi said. “I’m worried about you getting discovered.”

“I agree,” Katherine said.

“I don’t want to intrude,” Catalina said, but Katherine shook her head.

“Please. I insist.”

Catalina smiled. “Thank you, Kat.”

Faedi excused herself from the hut a few minutes later to go check on some other patients, leaving Katherine and Catalina alone. Beside the bed was a shiny silver sword and polished steel shoulder pads, since Catalina insisted on wearing protection and fighting when necessary, even with her pregnancy. She didn’t like being hindered, but Katherine knew she would have to stand down eventually, especially when she got further into her trimester.

“Oh no,” Catalina said. “Not that look.”

Katherine raised an eyebrow at her. “What look?”

“The ‘I’m worried over Catalina’s pregnancy’ look,” Catalina stated. “You always get it when you look at my sword.”

“I just want you and the baby to be safe,” Katherine said, earning her a loud groan that made her smile.

“I AM safe, though. Now that I’m here, I don’t have to worry about being discovered and crucified.” Catalina said. “I’m safe.” And then she yelped loudly. “Ow! You spineless, pig-fucking bastard! Stop kicking me!”  
Katherine laughed and set a hand on Catalina’s belly, rubbing soothing circles around it. She felt light kicks underneath her palm, but Catalina didn’t cry out at those.

“I think they like you,” Catalina said. “Thank god for that. Now I know to come to you when they won’t let me sleep!”

“Oh, so then _I_ won’t get sleep?” Katherine said.

“Yup!” Catalina beamed, and Katherine laughed.

The good mood was abruptly cut short, however, but shouting from outside the hut. Katherine shot to her feet instantly, with Catalina right behind her, but she ushered the young woman back down.

“But--” Catalina tried to argue.

“No buts. Stay here.” Katherine ordered, then ran out, taking her bow from its straps. Was EB back? Was Henry really going to attack the village for not siding with him?

A crowd was gathered by one of the ponds. Katherine could see Maggie pointing a flint-tipped wooden spear at something as she rushed over. She knocked an arrow as she pushed through the group and--

\--and aimed for a tiny Tiefling child with pure white skin.


	2. Chapter 2

In a whirl of spears and flicking ears and stomping hooves, the stranger had been ushered away from the village. Several people looked nervous, while others were outraged at the idea of an intruder in their territory; there were only two entrances into the town, one in the very front and one in the back that led to the interrogation area and holding cells. The rest of the perimeter was covered in a wall of thorns that Katherine’s father had enchanted to grow. That meant the stranger had to fight off the painful, prickling plants to get into their village.

And that was not good.

Katherine rubbed her forehead tiredly. She had to spend several minutes calming down townsfolk (and stopping Anne from singing a way-too-jolly doomsday song), assuring them that everything was going to be okay. After all, what’s one little Tiefling to all of them?

When she finally finished her “forest princess duties”, she walked back over to Faedi’s hut to check on Catalina, only to see the Aasimar outside, on her feet, wearing her steel-plated shoulder paddings and holding her sword. She almost looked silly in the armor with her protruding pregnant belly, but her face was serious and she looked ready to stab someone.

“Catalina,” Katherine sighed. “I told you to stay inside.”

“I _did_ ,” Catalina said. “But then I got bored and wanted to come help. So I still kinda half-obeyed you because I stayed inside for awhile!” Her shoulders slumped with a rattling of metal; if the pads hindered her because of her pregnancy, she didn’t show it. “But I missed everything! What happened?”

Katherine couldn’t help but laugh slightly at her friend. Even in a time of possible crisis, Catalina still knew how to lift her spirits just by being herself.

“There was an intruder, that’s all,” Katherine told her, steering Catalina back into the hut. “A Tiefling.”

“Oooo,” Catalina said in interest.

Katherine wondered if she felt for the stranger or was fearful of her like the others. After all, Aasimars and Tieflings were very similar to each other, with just one being of celestial touch and the other being of infernal touch. 

“Why are they here?” Catalina asked.

“I don’t know,” Katherine answered as she began unbuckling Catalina’s shoulder pads. “I’m going to go see them after this.” She caught Catalina opening her mouth and quickly added, “You can’t come with me.”

Catalina pouted, ruffling the golden feathers in her hair. “That is SO unfair! I can be useful! Look, I can be intimidating, watch,” And then she made an intimidating face. Katherine laughed loudly.

“You are so cute,” Katherine said, earning a wrinkled nose and glare from Catalina. “You just stay here for now, okay?”

Catalina huffed and slumped down onto the bed. “FINE!”

Katherine smiled and kissed the top of her head. “Thank you, love.”

After making sure Catalina wouldn’t escape and follow her, Katherine headed out to Ghent’s prison.

Not that it could really be considered a prison. It was a giant tree that her father had hollowed out with his magic. The prisoner would be stuffed inside the trunk and then the hole would be wrapped in enchanted thorny vines to keep them in. 

Maggie was standing guard outside the tree, still holding her spear. She was probably the only other person in the entire village who believed they needed a security system, and she wanted to be head of the guard. She was very cunning and ambitious, always wanting to prove herself, like how she jumped into a proper position when she saw Katherine coming.

“The prisoner has been safely detained,” Maggie said. 

“Thank you, Maggie,” Katherine said. “I’ve just come to see them.”

Maggie nodded. “Just shout if you need anything stabbed.” She gripped her spear and smirked.

Katherine thanked her again, then walked over to the cell. Inside, hugging their knees as far away from the vibes as possible, was the Tiefling.

Unlike the rest of her kind, her sweaty, dirt-spattered skin was a strange pure white color that gleamed like polished pearls in the faint light. Scraggly, white-blonde hair stuck to her lean face, falling around her bony shoulders. Strands of thorns were tangled around her stubby horns, which curved back over her head, and long, whip-thin tail, and there was mud stuffed in her cloven feet. She was small, thin, and lithe, and looked very tired.

“Hello there,” Katherine greeted softly as she sat down in front of the tree. “My name is Katherine Howard. What’s yours?”

The Tiefling didn’t answer. She didn’t even look over at Katherine.

“Why are you here?” Katherine asked.

Again, no answer. The Tiefling showed no signs of being cooperative.

Katherine sighed. “Sweetheart--”

That got the Tiefling to glance up. Her eyes were a startling grey color.

“Sweetheart,” Katherine said again, slower this time. “I need you to work with me. I don’t want you to be hurt. Can you please tell me your name and why you are here?”

The Tiefling looked at her for a long moment, then curled her tail in close and hugged her knees tightly. The poor thing seemed very shaken, or perhaps she was just too exhausted to speak. Katherine sighed again.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to be interrogated, then. I wish you luck.”

So, an hour later, the young Tiefling was hauled out of the cell and to the place of interrogation. For Ghent, that was a pond.

The pond was further into the forest, where the trees opened up to the sky. Paths were cut through the surrounding shrubbery for easy access to places to watch. Thick cattails and reeds lined the edges of the water, which rippled peacefully with aquatic life. Several rocks led up to a large, flat stone at the center of the pond, and there was a larger, sloped rock in front of it. Katherine’s father took his place on top of that one, while the prisoner was prodded onto the flat stone with sharp spears.

The area was soon packed with people. It seemed as though the entire village came to watch and see the weird-looking Tiefling, not that Katherine blamed them. A Tiefling had never been to Ghent before. Several children were gawking at the girl with wide, adoring eyes, pointing and whispering things to each other. As Katherine passed by, she heard a small faun say something about the Tiefling’s tail.

Katherine climbed onto the tall rock where her father, Edmund, was already perched. He was an old, but wise wood elf with neatly-combed dark brown hair, even darker brown eyes, and ears like knives. Clad in animal furs and wielding a heavy wooden quarterstaff, he held himself like a real king and not just the chief of a forest village.

In the crowd, Katherine spotted Maggie and Anne near the back. For once, Anne didn’t have any instrument in her hands, but Maggie still had her spear and she was shifting from hoof to hoof, her gait haunches bursting with energy. Closer near the rock Katherine was on, was Catalina, who had stubbornly attended despite Faedi’s orders for bed rest. Catalina caught her gaze and flashed her a smirk that said, _“No baby is keeping me from missing drama.”_ Katherine chuckled in reaction.

One of the villagers in charge of leading the stranger, a big, burly Tabaxi that had the pelt patterns of a cheetah, leaned down and clasped a pair of metal shackles around the Tiefling’s wrists, then quickly stepped away. The Tiefling glanced back at him with a wounded expression, then frowned down at the restraints. Edmund thumped his staff on the rock, and she squinted up at him.

“I am Edmund Howard, Chief of Ghent,” Katherine’s father said, his voice booming around the clearing, resonating with the wind. “This is my daughter, Katherine. We welcome you to our village.”

The Tiefling just blinked at him, then tugged lightly against the shackles. The tip of her tail flicked back and forth like a calculating cat’s. 

“Have nothing to say?” Edmund said. He waited, but got no answer. “Hm. Not to worry.” He tapped his staff twice on the rock. “Shall we formally begin? What is your name?”

Grooves and swirling symbols engraved around the shackles lit up white and the Tiefling’s body shuddered. She wide-eyed them, now tugging more frantically against them.

“Hyurk..” She grunted.

“I don’t think I specified,” Edmund said, “Those shackles are enchanted. If you lie, the pain will worsen. So advise you to tell the truth.”

Katherine always hated the shackles. They seemed cruel, forcing people to say things against their will. Though, she did fine Catalina’s experience with them the first time she came to the village extremely entertaining.

( _“Does it really hurt when you lie? I wanna see! Ask me a question, Kat!”_

_“What’s your favorite kind of pie?”_

_“Apple-- OW, DRAGON SHIT--”_ )

“Joan,” The Tiefling forced out through gritted teeth. She was shaken, clearly in pain. Her voice was soft and youthful, but also hoarse, like she hadn’t drank water in decades.

 _Joan,_ Katherine repeated to herself in her head. What a beautiful name.

“Surname?” 

“Meutas”

“Where are you from?”

“A-a small village. Near the ocean. I think it was called Shul? Yeah, yeah... Shul. I was from there.” Her neck tendons strained as she spoke.

“Are you a traveler?”

“No.”

“Where are you parents? You’re awfully young to be on your own.”

“I don’t know.”

“How old are you?” Katherine butt in suddenly, earning a scolding look from her father.

“Fifteen.” Joan answered, and Katherine felt a wrench in her heart for the little one.

“Why did you come here?” Edmund regained control of the interrogation.

Joan looked like she attempted to fight back and not answer, but it didn’t seem to go well from the way her body jerked with massive discomfort, like she was about to be sick. Her tail slid across the top of the rock and dipped into the water.

“Didn’t mean to,” Joan gasped through a wave of pain. She must have hesitated slightly. “Was running. Stumbled in. I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry.”

Edmund raised his eyebrows in interest. Katherine glanced at Catalina, who was giving Joan a pitiful look. Her hands were folded protectively over her pregnant swell.

“Running from what?”

“Just travel-- Agh!!”

In response to her lie, Joan’s thin body crumpled over on itself. Her tail lashed like a snake on fire, and she moaned in obvious pain. She almost fell into the water, but the Tabaxi held her up firmly by the shoulder. Katherine could see his claws digging in. Through heaving breaths, Joan let the truth spill out:

“Th-these people. I-I really don’t know their names. Th-they just don’t like me ‘cause I’m a Tiefling and I look funny. I-I think they w-want to hurt me, s-so I avoid them.”

Katherine didn’t like this anymore. This wasn’t interrogation, it was torture. This poor, innocent child was being stripped of her will and humiliated.

“And did you just lead these people to us?” 

“I-I-I don’t know,” She was stammering horribly. A sheen of sweat glistened over her milky white skin. She looked ill, like she was being forced to function with a fever. That was the effect of resisting the magic.

“Do you want to hurt us?”

“Nnnnnggg...” Joan moaned as her stomach appeared to cramp. “N-no... J-just wanna...rest...for a little while...”

There was a hissing sound, and Katherine realized that was the shackles. Smoke was rising from Joan’s wrists. 

“I-I’m gonna throw up...” Joan gurgled.

But nobody except Katherine seemed to notice or care.

“Hm.” Edmund studied the girl closely. Then, he waved his staff in front of him and whispered an incantation that sent ice through Katherine’s veins. “Let me look into your head, Joan. I must know what you’re hiding.”

The whispers that eddied throughout the clearing sounded like thunder in reaction to the statement. Some people looked fearful, while others looked excited. Katherine glanced at Maggie and Anne, and saw that they were both wide-eyed in interest.

It was unknown if the fragile living psyche could stand such a trauma of having someone look through their head. It was a violation that nobody, no matter what they had done or who they were, should have to go through.

Katherine exchanged nervous glances with Catalina. This was cruel, they both agreed. The stranger was just a girl; she didn’t deserve this. They watched as their chief held his hands out to Joan and closed his fingers into fists.

“Who are you really, Joan?”

Joan’s eyes popped open wide. She rasped, “Wh-what are you doing?”

“Do not resist.”

The words did nothing.

Joan’s head jerked back before her whole body hauled forward, doubled over on her knees. Only the whites of her eyes could be seen, with a faint glow coming from the sockets; blind.

“No. Please stop, I--”

She cut herself off with a heartbreaking whine. Blood snaked from her nose. Tears soon joined them.

“P-please stop,” She panted. “Please...”

“Submit.” Edmund growled.

But the girl did not.

She began shrieking, body seizing wildly, tail spasming out of control. Her eyes, blank and white, faced the grey sky, but were unseeing. Tears ran red, and she cried blood. The vessels in her ears burst, next, then her mouth, and then her entire face became a horrific shiny red because she was bleeding from every orifice in her head.

Katherine grabbed her father’s arm and shook him. “Father, stop!” She yelled. “You’re hurting her!”

Edmund didn’t hear her, though. He was lost, too.

“That’s enough, Father!” Katherine tried again, but to no avail.

Thunder rumbled deeply overhead. Small tide pools of blood collect on the surface of the stone. Joan’s fingertips and nimble claws flushed crimson and then bled; the spell was starting to attack her extremities. If Katherine had to take a guess, it was probably to make her submit to the investigation of her mind. 

Katherine gave up on her father and jumped down from the rock. She landed heavily in knee-deep water, but ran through it as fast as she could to get to Joan. Catalina hurried over a moment later. 

“For a pacifist village, you guys got some brutal interrogation methods,” The Aasimar said in an attempt to lighten the mood. But Joan was still suffering under the spell, so Katherine couldn’t think about humor at the moment.

“We have to free her,” Katherine said. “My dad is going to kill her. She can’t take this.”

“Don’t worry, I got this,” Catalina said as she took out her sword.

“Are you going to STAB my DAD?” Katherine yelped.

“No!” Catalina snapped. “Just trust me! Oh, and cover your ears.”

Katherine obeyed, immediately slapping her hands over her sensitive elf ears. She watched as Catalina raised her sword skyward, noticing the way the silver seemed to glow with charged energy, murmured an enchantment, and then brought the blade down onto the stone.

The resulting crack of thunder was like nothing Katherine had ever heard before. Even with her ears covered, she still felt like she went deaf for a moment as a booming, apocalyptic crash exploded throughout the area. It rattled Katherine’s bones in her body, and then she realized that was just the ground and water quaking with the noise. She nearly buckled underneath the overpowering sound, but managed to stay on her feet as her ears rang painfully. Rain began to pour down heavily. 

Behind her, Edmund gasped sharply, staggering backwards from the shock of being startled out of the spell. His eyes were wide, bulging in their sockets. Many loyal villagers ran to his aid, while others pointed their weapons at Joan, who was laying face-down on the stone, unmoving. Katherine fanned the closest Tabaxi and his spear away as she propped Joan up in her arms.

“She’s alive,” Katherine told her friend. She unlatched the shackles, revealing bright red blisters burned in Joan’s wrists. “She needs to be tended to. Come on.”

Scooping Joan up into her arms, Katherine hurried through the water, back down the path to the village, and to her treehouse as quickly as possible. With the help of Catalina, she dressed the blisters around Joan’s wrists with old man’s beard lichen and cleaned her face off with a wet rag. By the time they were done, the storm had turned into a mini hurricane outside. Katherine shut the shutters on her many windows, which usually aired out her home when it wasn’t raining, while Catalina watched over Joan closely.

“I think you may have flooded the forest,” Katherine said.

Catalina shrugged innocently. “I helped. I think I did good.”

Katherine smiled at her. “You did do good, Lina. Thank you.”

Catalina puffed out her chest proudly. “Hell yeah I did!” She then looked down at the little Tiefling laying in Katherine’s bed. “What are you going to do with her?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Katherine said, sitting down next to her friend. For now, Joan looked peaceful as she slept. “I don’t think she has anywhere else to go. Maybe Father will let her stay here. After all, what’s the worst that could happen?”


	3. Chapter 3

“Katherine! Katherine, wake up!”

Katherine’s eyes snapped open, but she thought she was just imagining that for a moment because it was still so dark. And then she realized that that was smoke.

“Wake up! We’re being attacked! The forest is on fire!”

Katherine sat up straight, gasping--and then breaking out into a fit of coughing as she inhaled a breath of smoke. Her treehouse was filled with thick, dark grey ash that had seeped in through her shutters and wide open door, but through it she saw Elan standing in front of her, shaking in fear. His ears wouldn’t stop twitching in his obvious panic.

“What?” Katherine rasped. She scrambled to her feet; the night before, she had fallen asleep in one of her chairs, since Joan had been in the bed.

Speaking of Joan-- Katherine looked around frantically and spotted the little Tiefling pressed against the wall, quaking. Her tail was wound around one of her legs and her claws were clenched tightly in fright. When she noticed Katherine looking over at her, her ears flicked back.

“Katherine!!!” Elan’s shriek brought Katherine back into full awareness. “We’re all going to die!!!”

“Calm down!” Katherine shook the young man’s shoulders. “We’re not going to die!” And then she grabbed her bow and quiver, rushed past him, and ran out onto her balcony, gazing out at the burning village before her.

Dark figures were weaving through the trees, casting distorted shadows across the smoldering ground. Roaring flames tore across the huts and tents, swallowing plants and shrubbery, leaping onto fleeing victims with swift brutality. A pair of fauns were seizing on the ground, engulfed in fire. A wood elf that would teach younger kids in the village was screaming in pain from somewhere beyond. A Tabaxi was lying motionless by a pond, his body crisp and black, one arm reaching to the salvation of the water he would never get to. Some villagers were grappling in the fire, throwing flaming javelins and swinging giant broadswords and tossing nets onto anyone who wasn’t burning alive. A few people were wearing thick armor with symbols that bore the mark of a bronze snake eating its own tail. 

With a jolt, Katherine realized that was the mark of King Henry’s forces.

EB was right. King Henry was attacking for their disagreement. 

And he was going to kill them all. 

“What do we do?!” Elan squawked, scrambling up behind Katherine.

Through the billowing smoke and towering flames, Katherine noticed Catalina fighting off a few enemies, loudly shouting things over the panic. Katherine ran to her and put an arrow in the back of a goblin that would have gotten a slice out of her friend.

“Catalina!” Katherine said breathlessly. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Catalina replied, looking around everywhere with her sword out in a defensive position. “What the hell is happening?”

“It’s Henry,” Katherine told her. “He’s attacking.”

Suddenly, a Hobgoblin lunged out of the smoke with a dagger aimed for Katherine’s heart. Before either Katherine or Catalina could react, Maggie smashed into the Hobgoblin, knocking him off course and sending him sprawling. Maggie raised her spear and jammed it into his skull mercilessly.

“Thanks,” Katherine gasped. 

“No problem,” Maggie answered, yanking her spear out with a squelching of blood and flesh. “We can’t let them take us.”

“I know.”

Katherine knocked an arrow and sent it flying into the head of a human soldier swinging at a satyr. At her side, Catalina swung at any close-ranged opponents, while Maggie galloped back into the fray to get her hands dirty. Through the smoke, Katherine thought she could see Anne bashing in the skull of a goblin with her lute.

Katherine had never had to kill someone before. She was slightly frightened by how she wasn’t fazed by what she was doing, but she assumed that was because of the adrenaline rush pumping through her. She and her people would die if she didn’t fight back. She had to.

As a tidal wave of ash crashed down, a new challenger hulked through the fire. It was a dark grey Goliath with forest green marking weaving up and down his limbs and face. His expression was set in a firm leer, eyes piercing brown, and he was coming right for Katherine.

Katherine loaded an arrow into her bow and sent it flying at the Goliath’s chest, but was shocked to watch it bounce off. Her assailant did not wait for her to regain your wits before striking, and although she leapt away, the spikes of a barbed mace still scored a line of pain down her right thigh.

A hiss escaped Katherine’s clenched teeth, even as she regained her balance and prepared a riposte. She could feel blood seeping through the fur of her pants. She shook off the pain and swung her entire bow at the Goliath, only to have it feel like she just struck a block of marble. The Goliath chuckled deeply in his throat and slammed his mace downwards; Katherine barely had enough time to raise her bow to deflect him.

The two of them were locked together, Katherine’s sinews screaming, her head pounding. She pushed with all her might, but the Goliath was so much stronger than she was and was starting to push her bow down. The deadly spikes of his mace pricked mere inches away from Katherine’s face.

And then, from out of nowhere, Joan came running and plunged a tiny wooden stake into the Goliath’s back.

The Goliath jolted and swung his head around. The stake hadn’t fully impaled him, but it did draw a tiny drop of red blood. He narrowed his eyes at the pinprick, then raised one of his huge, thickly-muscled arms up and slammed it into Joan.

The little Tiefling went flying. She landed in a patch of smoldering grass, which she instantly leapt away from with a howl of pain. Katherine felt a rush of protectiveness burst through her as she watched this, and she grabbed another arrow and stabbed it into the Goliath’s eye when he turned back to her.

 _That_ went through.

The Goliath let out a roar of pain as Katherine pushed the arrow in deeper and deeper. He whipped his body back and forth, but even when Katherine was shaken free, the damage had been done. The Goliath staggered away, groaning like a wounded wild animal.

“Joan,” Katherine called out. Smoke itched in her throat, and her thigh was starting to throb, but she ignored it. “Joan, sweetheart, come here. I’ll protect you.”

Surprisingly, the little Tiefling obeyed and scrambled over to her. Katherine could see that the back of her raggedy white cotton tunic was charred black and she could smell hints of burning flesh, though that may have been from the people burning all around her.

“Catalina!” Katherine called, feeling a pang of anxiety bolt through her. She hadn’t been keeping an eye on her friend as she was fighting the Goliath.

“I’m here!” Catalina called back. Katherine spotted her to the left, cutting down a Hobgoblin with her sword. She staggered over, breathing raggedly. “I’m here.” Sweat was running down her face from the heat of the fire and she looked tired. Even if she would never admit it, fighting in her condition was wearing away at her.

“You need to go somewhere safe,” Katherine told her. “The baby--”

“The baby is fine, Kat,” Catalina hissed through gritted teeth. She jerked her sword around to someone running by, and Katherine noticed how she was holding it so it would be angled protectively over her stomach. “I have to stay and help.”

“You’re breathing in too much smoke.”

“I’m fine.” Catalina said stubbornly. “You need help, Kat. Not everyone in this village can fight.”

As if the universe were proving her right, a wood elf was knocked down and got his neck slashed open a few yards away.

“Alright,” Katherine gave in. “Fine. But please be safe.”

Catalina flashed her a smile, even in their predicament. “Of course.”

The three of them, Joan included once she got her claws on a fallen shortsword, fought through the fire, pushing Henry’s forces back as much as they could. They cut and shot and stabbed and slashed through the onslaught of soldiers bearing down on them, trying their best to regain control of the forest.

There was a battlecry from behind; Katherine swung around and nearly took out the eyes of Anne, who was standing over a corpse with a dented skull. Dark red blood dripped off of her lute as she hefted it in her hands.

“You gotta be more aware of your surroundings!” Anne said, still somehow sounding jolly even in this situation. Perhaps it was a coping mechanism to deal with all the death and destruction going on around them. Even so, her deer ears were drooped down, signaling her anguish.

“Thank you, Anne,” Katherine said in relief, half because she was happy to see that her cousin was still alive.

“Huh,” Catalina said. “Bards can be useful aside from singing and playing music!”

Anne actually laughed. “Never doubt us!” And then she sprung off her powerful deer haunches and cleaved the sharp edged of her lute into the skull of an unsuspecting goblin. A second goblin came out from a cloud of smoke, ready to stab her, but Maggie thrust her spear through his back before he could even aim for Anne.

“Catalina,” Katherine turned to her friend. “Can you put out the fire?”

Catalina blinked, then realized what Katherine meant. She nodded and raised her sword to the dark sky, murmured an incantation, and then cracked it into a nearby enemy.

Like before, the resulting clap of thunder was booming. Katherine’s skull throbbed with the noise, and she thought could feel the shockwave reverberate in the cuts along her thigh, the pain pulsing in time with the vibrations. She staggered like last time, but kept her balance as rain began to pelt down, beating against the fire.

“Thank you,” Katherine said to Catalina, who smiled wryly at her.

“Damn,” Anne said, letting out a slight laugh. “Having a rain spell is very useful during a forest fire!”

“Oh, it’s not a rain spell,” Catalina said. “It’s actually Thundering Smite. It’s supposed to just call upon thunder, but I guess the rain came, too, since it was already stormy.”

Anne shrugged. “Still a good spell. Thank you, Catalina!” She smiled, and then a crossbow bolt was put in her eye.

At first, Katherine thought she was screaming, and then she realized that it was Maggie. Anne stared blankly at them, the tip of the bolt protruding out of her right eyeball, half-mumbling and half-slurring on her words as her brain shut down. Then, she fell lifelessly, and revealed the human archer standing a few feet behind her. Maggie took him out in a flying tackle, screeching in anguished fury, and the two of them tumbled through a wall of flames, disappearing from sight.

For the first time that night, Katherine was truly in shock. Suddenly, all her adrenaline was gone and she was left with the horrifying realization of what exactly was happening all around her.

Her home was being burnt to the ground.

“Kat… Kat… Katherine!”

Catalina’s voice brought Katherine back to awareness. She flinched, blinking her eyes through prickling smoke, and saw her friend in front of her, worry written all of her face.

“Kat, are you there? Are you with me?” Catalina asked frantically. Joan was at her side, silent but nervous. “Kat?” She reached her hands out, and Katherine took them in her own, squeezing tightly.

“I’m here,” Katherine whispered. “I’m here.”

“Oh, god, Kat, I’m so sorry,” Catalina said. “I’m so sorry.”

Katherine opened her mouth to say something, though she didn’t exactly know what, but was charged at and tackled before the words could come out of her mouth.

Katherine and her attacker tumbled across the ground in a heap of tangled limbs, fur clothes and steel armor slapping against each other, but it was the attacker who came out on top. Blinking through a haze of starbursts and smog, Katherine saw EB on top of her, pinning her to the floor, holding an ebony war ax to her throat.

“I told you,” EB said, and her voice sounded genuinely anguished. “I told you we would attack.”

Katherine growled lowly in her throat. She reached for her fallen bow, but EB kicked it away.

“I didn’t want to do this,” EB said.

“Then why did you?” Katherine snapped. 

“I _had_ to!”

“You don’t _have_ to do anything!”

The blade of the axe pressed closer to Katherine’s neck, drawing a thin streak of bright red blood.

“I didn’t want to,” EB said again. “But you gave me no-- OW!!”

EB whirled around, the blade of her axe narrowly missing Katherine’s jugular, and saw Joan and Catalina standing there. Catalina’s sword was pointed forward, while Joan’s hands were empty. Because the arrow that had been occupying them was now stabbed through EB’s side.

“Heh,” EB actually laughed. “That’s surprising.”

“Get off of her.” Catalina said, stepping forward. “ _Now_. Or I swear to all the celestial beings that I _will_ put this sword through your fucking skull.”

EB studied her, and then Joan, and then hissed, “Shit.” She clambered off of Katherine and stood up, wincing because of the arrow still in her side. “I can’t kill a kid. Or a pregnant woman.”

“Bitch--” Catalina growled. 

EB ignored her. “Get up.” She said to Katherine. “Come on. Reinforcements will be here soon.”

Katherine understood what she was doing and grabbed her bow, then stood up as quickly as possible.

EB led them through the burning forest, far away from the area where she saw reinforcements would come. The heavy rainfall was doing its best to combat the fire, but the flames were strong and powerful, and were eating away at the trees rapidly. Waves of smoke and ash and soot battered into them, and Joan had staggered into a coughing fit at one point in the run, but Katherine managed to get her moving again. A flaming tree crashed down in their path, and EB recoiled away. Katherine felt Catalina (or maybe just her belly) bump into her when she skidded to an abrupt halt.

“This way!” EB yelled, sprinting into the trees to the left.

Pelting rain and flakes of ash fluttered from the sky in a flurry of cruel elements. Katherine had to squint so she wouldn’t be blinded by raindrop or ember. Her lungs were starting to burn, both from running and from the smog that infected every particle of clean air around her. She was worried they would all suffocate before salvation came.

But that didn’t happen. Because they burst through a line of trees and out onto a clearing with a gorge slashed through it. A river raged inside the channel, just six feet down the cliff faces.

There was no way to get across.

“What do we do?” Catalina gasped.

EB looked up and down the river, and Katherine could see that there was no way over to the other side for several miles. Not something they could reach in time before they were caught.

“Katherine,” EB said, catching Katherine’s attention. “Listen to me. You need to find a way away from here. My troops are going to catch up soon.”

“What about your wound?” Katherine asked, eyeing the arrow still lodged through EB’s side.

EB snorted. “I’ve had worse.”

 _That_ Katherine could believe.

EB’s expression hardened. “If we ever meet again, I’m going to have to kill you.” 

Those words slithered into Katherine’s brain like venomous snakes, taking her off guard. She saw that EB was being completely serious, even if, deep down, she didn’t want to be. At her sides, Joan and Catalina were tense.”

“Stop the war.” EB spoke again, this time softer, more pleading. “Please.” And then she stepped forward and shoved Katherine into the river below.

\------

After the three of them crawled out of the river, Katherine, Catalina, and Joan ran. 

After floating in a river and struggling to stay above the rapids and being beaten by rocks for what felt like hours, they ran for what felt like even more hours.

They didn’t know where they were going.

They were now miles away from their home. Joan was limping. Catalina, despite herself, looked exhausted. Katherine was so thirsty. They were all very hungry.

Hunting was tradition in an English Aristocrat- or that was what Catalina said the guards and nobles in her city said. Even the lowest of peasants found thrill in wielding a weapon and hunting game. Katherine had never fired her bow with shivering, trembling limbs, and she never thought she would have to, but then she and Catalina and Joan stumbled upon the rotting corpse of a hunter in the grass, with a quiver full of arrows that they would need if they wanted to survive out there.

There was a bear trap clamped tightly on the left ankle. The quiver was strapped around the torso. Maggots festered on the head and chest and groin. Katherine told Catalina and Joan to look away. They do not disobey; Joan went to collect firewood and Catalina sat down to rest.

Katherine muttered apologies as she knelt beside the body. A trail of maggots squished loudly beneath her knees. She did her best to ignore it.

The stench of the corpse was overpowering. The feel of maggots wriggling over her hands was worse.

Katherine had to stick her fingers in the maggot mass to untangle the quiver. They were slimy little creatures and squirmed wildly when touched, clearly angry. A few wiggle up her digits, tickling the soft flesh, and Katherine shook her hand wildly, sending the worms flying. She worked faster, but that just made the squelching noises louder and louder until--

Katherine ripped the quiver off the rotting corpse and vomited.

Joan and Catalina were waiting at a nearby clearing with a pile of sticks. Katherine praised Joan wearily. Catalina caught Katherine’s exhausted expression.

“Kat?” Catalina spoke up for the first time in hours. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” Katherine mumbled. The front of her tunic was drenched in vomit. “Just…tired.”

Catalina pursed her lips in disbelief, but said, “Okay.” 

Katherine knelt beside the sticks and then stared at them, as if she were hoping they would light on fire if she gave them a stern-enough look. Then, she took her bow, a stick, and began a technique she once read about in a book.

It was called the “bow drill” apparently. By using a bow to grind a stick against a piece of wood, enough friction would be created to start a fire. On paper, it sounded like a simple way to help in a survival situation, but actually doing it was a lot more problematic.

Katherine was crouched on the ground, drilling a stick down on another piece of wood for half an hour, and all she really succeeded in was tearing strips off of her hands. Fresh blisters stung and glowed angry pink in the open air. Splinters poked at the patches of raw flesh, deepening Joan’s agony, but she kept trying. She feared she and Catalina and Joan would freeze during the night if she didn’t.

After nearly an hour, there were enough ashes to dump into a pile of dry moss and grass to blow on, eventually starting a small fire that slowly grew larger and larger. Katherine actually sobbed out of relief. Catalina knelt down next to her and hugged her. Joan sat back on a log and stared blankly at her hooves.

It was sad, really, that they both thought that this was the best thing to ever happen to them.

Katherine told Joan and Catalina to tend to the fire while she went out to get dinner. She regretted it almost immediately, as the darkness of the forest seemed to close around her. For a moment, she swore she thought she saw a writhing black mass of human limbs in one of the shadows…

The buck had heard her coming, and Katherine cursed herself. She already didn’t want to kill an innocent animal, but it fleeing was just making this even worse. She began to fear getting lost if she went any further.

The buck ran out of sight, and Katherine tried to chase after it on her sore, tired legs. She pushed harshly through the brambles and bushes. She knew she wouldn’t find it on the other side; she’d given it so much warning with her clumsy noise it could be anywhere by now.

Katherine turned around and began retracing her steps. She stopped, however, when she saw another deer nearby.

Katherine drew her bow, staring down a trembling arrow, praying that her hands would be steady enough to keep her and her companions from starving to death. Despair set in as she released the arrow. She was clawing for one more hellish day in this nightmare that had become her life in a span of mere hours.

The deer never knew what hit her. And it was a her. Katherine was able to discern that as she crouched down next to the body and brought her next arrow closer. The arrowhead was small but sharp, and she began slicing the fur away, wondering if she could make some gloves, or sleeves, or something to hold back the constant wind and rain that would soon come with fall.

A smaller noise squealed from her left, and she snatched up her bow. The new animal was…young. It was a deer, barely two months old, and Katherine knew instantly that she had just orphaned the little one.

(Just like how the raiders had orphaned her and maybe even Joan and Catalina.)

It was terrified of her, but unable to leave the mother’s body…

The helpless creature squealed again, and Katherine knew it was doomed. More so than she was. She, at least, had learned the protection of silence. The baby’s squealing would call down every carnivore or person in the area.

Katherine notched another arrow into her bow…and put it right between the little creature’s eyes.

Her lack of hesitation scared her.

(Something told her this wasn’t going to be the only innocent blood she would spill.)

She had thrown away more than a few of the promises she had made to herself over her lifetime. She had promised that she wouldn’t participate in hunting baby animals or mothers. She had promised herself she wouldn’t give way to despair. She had promised herself she wouldn’t be cruel to anything or anyone that was helpless. But now she didn’t care. If someone she loved had come by with a piece of bread, she would have caved their head in with a rock to get a bite of it.

Savage. She felt savage.

Katherine dragged the deer’s back to the camp. Catalina and Joan said nothing about the baby.

Gutting was a painful process. Catalina took over after Katherine threw up again.

“Sit down and rest, love,” That’s what Catalina had said when she slipped the arrow out of her hand and gently nudged her aside. Katherine was too tired to argue with her.

Catalina cooked slabs of deer meat in the fire as best as she could, but Katherine could tell that she burned it. The smell was too fresh and familiar to all of them.

Majority of the food went to Catalina for obvious reasons. She ate a lot more than Katherine had expected, but she must have used a lot of energy after running and fighting. Katherine ate two pieces of meat. Joan nibbled on a strip of charred venison, and then didn’t eat at all again.

The sun was just starting to come up when they all huddled together to rest. Katherine rested her shaking hands on Catalina’s belly because the small flutters of life from within gave her a little more hope. Joan was leaning against her, curled into a small ball. Catalina was on her other side, with her head resting against Katherine’s own. And they stayed like that, shivering.

“Kat?” Catalina croaked after a while. “What are we going to do?”

Katherine watched their fire start to burn out, swirling soft grey smoke towards the even greyer sky, and said, “We’re going to stop the war.”


	4. Chapter 4

The sloshing of mud was REALLY starting to get on Katherine’s nerves.

After sleeping through most of the day, Katherine and her companions were on the move. But because of the heavy rainfall the roads had been reduced to an ankle-deep mass of mud and slime. The wetness wormed its way into Katherine’s fur shoes, completely ruining them, and she guessed it wasn’t much better for Joan, who couldn’t even wear shoes. Her hooves and the white skin around her feet were a dark brown color, and Katherine wondered if it would be stained that way forever.

The tragedy was still weighing heavily in all of their minds, especially Katherine’s. Everything kept replaying in her mind- the fire, the violence, the screaming, Anne’s death… Anne may have been silly and loud, but she was still her cousin. They grew up together. And now she was gone.

“Kat?”

There was a gentle touch on her shoulder; Katherine turned her head to see Catalina, looking worried. She quickly wiped her eyes with her knuckles.

“Yeah?” Katherine said in her best not-upset voice.

“Are you alright?” Catalina asked.

“Yeah,” Katherine said again, this time slightly weaker.

Catalina frowned and took her hand. “It’s going to be okay.”

Katherine sniffled lightly and nodded.

But nothing felt okay. Not anymore. Her home was burnt to the ground, so many of her friends and family and neighbors were dead, she didn’t even know what happened to her father… And now she was on a mission to stop a war that she didn’t even know how it started.

For nearly the entire day, they walked on in solitude, Katherine and Catalina hand-in-hand, the sounds of the forest and the occasional flitting birds their only other companion. Therefore, it was almost a surprise when they all heard the clip-clop of iron-shod hooves, and the rattle of wheels rising from the road ahead.

Soon, the source of the sound comes into view, a handful of riders leading four heavy, covered, ox-pulled wagons: a merchant caravan.

Katherine got a better look as the distance between her group and the caravan slowly closed. The outriders were clearly ready for danger, clad in vests of boiled leather, swords and maces belted to their hips. A few others sit in the wagons, children mostly wearing sturdy, well-made traveling garb.

At the head of the caravan were a man and a woman, both rippling with tension. Katherine sized them up as they approached, but none of them bore the wolf marking of Henry’s troops. The woman was a hard-faced and dangerous-looking centaur, armed and armored in the same fashion as the outriders, with a wide-brimmed kettle helm on her head and the equine body of a muscular shire. The man, on the other hand, was a rather short air genasi with pastel blue skin and halo of crystals growing from his head. 

“Hail, friend!” The genasi shouted, earning a disapproving look from his centaur companion.

Katherine dared to wave back. “Hail to you as well!” She responded. The caravan guards seemed to relax visibly as she did so.

“Well met, girl!” The genasi replied as he halted his caravan before the trio. “We haven't seen a lot of travelers on the roads these last few days. What with the war and all.”

The centaur woman beside the caravan master kept her distance. As far as Katherine could tell, she was entirely preoccupied with scanning the road ahead for threats. Judging by her expression, she seemed less than amused by the momentary stop.

The caravan master extended his hand to Katherine. "I am Gale of Edinburg, this is my caravan, and the centaur next to me is my associate, Gaddison. You must excuse her; she thinks threats are everywhere.”

“They _are_ everywhere,” The centaur replied bitterly, stamping one of her back hooves. She glanced at Katherine’s group and her furry ears pricked up in surprise when she saw Catalina. “You’re pregnant.”

Catalina groaned. “God, is that my entire personality trait now?” Katherine rubbed her shoulder comfortingly, and Catalina crossed her arms and huffed in annoyance.

“I don’t mean to offend you,” Gaddison said. “I’m just impressed to see that you’re out in these conditions, that’s all. War rages everywhere.”

Catalina ruffled the feathers on her head. “I can take care of myself. I’m very strong.”

“She is,” Katherine nodded. 

“Well, that’s good,” Gaddison said. Her eyes slid over to Joan, but she didn’t say anything.

“By any chance, do you know what has caused the war?” Katherine asked the caravan master.

Gale blinked a few times. “I do not.” He said. “I don’t think anyone does.” He swung his head to the rest of the caravan, but they all either shrugged or shook their heads.

“I see.” Katherine said.

She and the two caravan masters chat for a little while longer before the wagons take off again in a grinding of wheels, stomping of hooves, and squelching of mud. It wasn’t long before the caravan was just clouds of dust in the distance. Katherine and her companions began their trek once again.

Hours passed. The sun began to set and the last of summer’s humidity weighed thickly in the air. It would be autumn soon, which meant cooler temperatures, but more wind, rain, and snow. Katherine wasn't sure which was worse.

That being said, the sight of a large building up ahead, with brightly lit windows and smoke coming out of its chimneys, and a surrounding village was welcome indeed.

The smell of farm animals and manure floated on the wind, getting stronger and stronger as the trio got near. Bleats and snorts and clucks whisked around the village as they entered. Some people glanced over, mainly at Joan or specifically Catalina’s stomach, but didn’t stop them.

They soon came to a two-story hall accompanied by a row of stables and surrounded by a waist-high stone fence. Sounds of music and laughter spilled out of the open windows, and a bright watchfire burned at the fence's gate, next to a crudely-painted wooden sign of a sleeping creature, hung from an iron post set into the gatepost.

“The Sleeping Dragon Inn,” The sign said to them in bright red letters visible by the light of the watchfire. Katherine and her companions made their way past the fence, through the courtyard, and into the main hall.

The high-ceilinged common room of the Sleeping Dragon In was bright and filled with the stink of spilled ale, roasting meat, and burning wood--all the aromas of civilization. Maybe half the benches in the big room were empty; the rest were filled with merchants, caravan guards, and other travelers, each busy with their own amusements, whether that be food, drink, dice, or song. A few glance over and whisper something to each other, but don’t speak up directly.

Katherine walked up to the bar. Behind it stood the stout, scruffy dwarf innkeeper, idly polishing a bottle of some dark fluid she had never seen before. She asked him for a bed for the night for her and her companions.

In response, the innkeeper rattled off a long list of options and their associated costs, from the expensive and luxurious to the downright squalid but cheap. Katherine ended up purchasing a comfortable private room and plain dinner for fifteen gold.

Katherine and her companions sat down at a booth as they were served a supper of thick brown bread and a bowl of stewed game birds seasoned with a tiny dash of valuable black pepper. Katherine was given a tankard of freshly-brewed ale, while Catalina and Joan were given a simple glass of water.

“Do you think they’d let me have some ale?” Catalina asked Katherine, not at all joking.

“Absolutely not.” Katherine said instantly.

Catalina wrinkled her nose. “Come on! Just one drink!”

“No.” Katherine said again, and Catalina huffed in response.

Katherine looked over at Joan, and saw that she was looking all around the inn. She appeared to be searching for something, but stopped when she noticed that Katherine was watching her. She slumped down in the booth and nibbled on her bread.

After they ate, they were shown their room on the second floor, which was, admittedly, a little cramped, but it had four walls, a roof, two cots with a straw mattress, and a bed, which was all they really wanted. 

“We’ll go to the market in the morning,” Katherine said. She and Joan had taken the cots, while Catalina got the bed. “We may need to purchase some things before we get moving.”

“Sounds good to me,” Catalina said, and Katherine heard the sheets she was laying on crinkle when she shrugged.

“Alright, let’s all get some rest,” Katherine said. “Goodnight.” She closed her eyes and dreamt of fire for the rest of the night.

\------

Colorful flags of different trading companies fluttered in a strong wind above the market square, which was bustling with activity that morning. Though Holm was fundamentally a small town, a fair number of traders bearing mundane goods such as grains, dyes, and cloth were stopped in the square, as did monster hunters and treasure hunters offering hard-to-appraise finds from nearby ruins. The merchants mostly traded from impermanent tents open at one side, but some wander through the crowd and act as their own auctioneers: “Who will give me fifty, fifty for a silver ring from the time of the ancients? Fiftyfiftyfifty thank you fifty-five-fifty-five-fifty-five I have fifty-five…” The air was sweet with the smells of cinnamon and curry spices from the south, and stinky cheese from the north.

Currently, Katherine was in a tent that sold clothing, and was squinting at a big, jaunty lime green hat with a huge feather. By her side, Catalina ran her hands over a golden robe while the shopkeeper eyed her suspiciously, probably wondering how she would fit in the cowl. When Catalina noticed this and the glances her belly was getting, she scowled and stomped over to Katherine.

“I hate it here,” The Aasimar grumbled.

Katherine reached up a hand to massage her friend’s shoulder comfortingly. “I’m sorry, honey,” She said. “I have enough to buy some fresh clothes for all of us. Would you like some?”

Their clothing seemed to finally be fully dried from the perpetual wet of the rain and river, but still bore the stink of smoke and burned flesh. Several people seemed to notice this by the way their noses wrinkled when they would pass by too close by.

“No, it’s okay,” Catalina said, tugging on her black nun’s robes. Her pregnancy was easily seen through them, earning a lot of incredulous and judgemental stares.

“Are you sure?” Katherine asked. “I don’t mind, really.”

Catalina shook her head. “I’m good.”

“Hm.” Katherine said. “Alright.”

Just as they’re about to walk out of the shop, they hear a halfling woman cry, “Thief!!!”

Katherine spun around to see someone in a drab brown cowl brazenly running off with a basket of red apples, leaving a large gap in the offerings of a halfling’s fruit cart. They easily bobbed and weaved around all the townsfolk who try to get in their way. The halfling uselessly shouted, “Thief! Thiieeef!” until she started to lose her voice.

The thief was about to get away when a huge mountain of an orc stepped in their path and they fell backwards. The hood came off, and Katherine hissed underneath her breath.

“Oh, shit,” Catalina said helpfully at her side. “That thief belongs to us!”

Townsfolk rushed to pick up the fallen apples--the “count of five” rule seemed to be an old tradition for judging the edibility of fallen food in Holm. Then they return the fruit to the halfling, because honesty must also have been a tradition in the town.

Two of the town guards show up, but Katherine and Catalina have to step in before they can strong-arm the thieving albino Tiefling away.

“I am so sorry about her,” Katherine said. “We should have kept a better eye on her.”

One of the guards looked Katherine up and down. “This rat belongs to you two?”

“Yes,” Katherine said. “I am so sorry. It won’t happen again.”

Thankfully, the guards took mercy on them and left them with just a warning. Katherine breathed a sigh of relief when they were gone, then gave Joan a stern glare.

“What were you thinking, young lady? Stealing?” She said.

“Sorry,” Joan whispered, her ears drooping. “I-I just thought that we would need some food… Especially Catalina.”

“Rude.” Catalina said. “But fair.”

Katherine sighed again, then knelt down in front of Joan, since the little Tiefling was so short. “Then I can buy some. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

Joan nodded, avoiding eye contact. Katherine ruffled her hair, then stood up straight. A few people were muttering and glaring at Joan, but the whole matter of the thief was quickly forgotten when a man down the street shouted, “Death cloud!”

Katherine blinked, looking around. To the east, she could see a dark purple-and-black cloud on the horizon. The cloud looked big, maybe as big as the town. And judging, by the sudden pandemonium broken out through the market, its appearance was not a good thing.

Immediately, the merchants broke down their tents, and many market patrons hurried into their houses and basements. Shutters snapped shut all down the street. The animal sellers hastily bargained with landowners, then pushed their sheep through storm doors into basements. A baby cried madly despite her mother’s tense reassurances. Some people uprooted flowers as they passed them; they’ll be no good to anybody else soon enough.

“What’s going on?” Catalina shouted over the panic. But the only answer she got was more screaming and yelling.

Joan yelped loudly as someone stomped on her tail. Katherine was shoved into Catalina, and then promptly got her foot trod on. They were all going to be trampled if they didn’t get away soon. 

“Oi!” A voice suddenly called out. “Get in here!”

The three of them whirled around to see a man waving from out of his front door. They hurried over and inside the safety of his home.

The house was filled to the brim with artifacts and art. Various geared axles from larger defunct automated artifacts, and some compelling-looking sleek metal cylinders etched with symbols that look very powerful gleamed in the light cast from conjured glass orbs all throughout the rooms. A whole alchemy set, composed of vials, beakers, and burners that laid out across a mahogany desk; a sculpted dragon egg, which was swaddled in some sweaters; a torc of life and death from an old laboratory; some rather fancy clothing on mannequins; an assortment of spare automation parts; and, of course, a shined bookshelf packed full of hefty tomes of magic- all of these things decorated that household that pulsed with magical energy.

Their savior was a young wood elf man, swathed in forest green robes with sparkling gold hems. He had bronze skin that was speckled with blue and pink paint, dark coppery hair, and deep, rich brown eyes. An amber sparrow earring dangled from one of his pointy ears, and he was wielding a hand-carved paintbrush. He hurried around the house, slamming shutters and curtains, but then turned to them with a warm smile after he finished.

“That was close,” He said. “You three must be travelers. Mostly everyone in the area knows about the storms.”

“What was that?” Catalina asked.

“Death Cloud,” The elf said. “It’s been going on for a few years, now. King Henry conjured it over our village after we refused to fight in the war with him. Better than being raided and killed or kidnapped, I suppose.”

Katherine winced internally. So other villages were being terrorized by Henry, too. She wondered what would have happened if Ghent had gotten a Death Cloud instead of being raided.

Would Anne still be alive?

“Anyway, I’m Hans Holbein,” The elf said with an elegant bow. “Who are all of you?”

“Katherine Howard,” Katherine said. “These are Catalina and Joan.”

Hans swept his eyes over the three of them, focusing on Joan. “Stars above,” He murmured. “An albino Tiefling! Wow, I’ve never seen one before! I didn’t even know they existed!”

Joan shuffled her hooves, glancing up at Katherine with an anxious expression. Katherine patted her head comfortingly.

“Hokka, banos,” Came a deep, rumbling voice.

Katherine’s eyes widened as a large stone golem came lumbering out of one of the other rooms. Its rocky grey body was covered in clumps of moss and streaked in green engravings. Its eyes were glowing bright green as it stared down at the trio.

“Hokka, slogeils,” It said.

“Woah,” Catalina said.

“Oh, right!” Hans presented the golem with a grand gesture of his arms. “This is Rocky, my two ton enchanted stone golem!”

“You must have been feeling very creative when naming it,” Joan said.

Katherine felt a jolt, but Hans laughed loudly, clearly not offended.

“You are absolutely right, little one,” Hans said. 

Outside, the storm began to pick up. Katherine heard the wind buffeting the house and heavy rain pelt down on the roof. There was also the sizzling of _something_. Hans ran over to a ladder leading up to a loft and peered through a periscope. He whistled.

“It’s real bad out there,” He said, then looked over at the trio. “Wanna see?”

One-by-one, they each took a look through the periscope.

Katherine watched as the black-and-purple cloud engulfed the entire town, building by building. At the cloud’s touch, flowers withered, trees dropped their leaves, and wooden shutters blackened as though charred. Black raindrops fell against tree trunks and melted the bark in grooves.

Finally, the cloud came for Hans’ building, blocking her view of anything but its own darkness. She quickly stepped back, and Hans retracted the periscope and shuttered the hole.

“Looks like there’s nothing to do but wait,” Hans said. “You all can stay with me until the storm ends. Make yourself at home!”

\------

It’s been two days since the Death Cloud rolled into Holm and Katherine had raging cabin fever.

As hospitable as Hans and Rocky were, she hated being cooped up inside when she had a war to stop (even if she didn’t exactly know _how_ to stop it just yet). She read Hans’ wide collection of books, painted, and even tried casting spells, but nothing could get rid of her boredom. She was ready to go back out and continue her adventure. So, on the second day, she approached Hans.

Hans was in a small alchemy room, grinding up some fire salts in a mortar and pestle. Joan was asleep in their bed chambers, curled in a small ball, while Catalina was reading peacefully. Surely they wouldn’t mind Katherine’s plans.

“We need to get going.”

Hans’ ears flicked up and he turned to Katherine with confusion on his face. “But the storm is still going.”

“Hosa, banos. Hosa, rauo’nd.” Rocky interrupted to offer a plate of deviled eggs it prepared itself.

“Thank you,” Katherine said, taking one. “And I know,” She continued. “But we really need to get moving again. We kinda have a mission.”

Hans raised an eyebrow. “Oh?” He put the mortar and pestle down. “I suppose I have something that can help you get through the storm. Come with me.”

Hans took Katherine to his bedroom and presented her a selection of masks and waxed clothes. Katherine ended up choosing a stag mask and fresh fur clothes, Catalina chose a hare mask and padded light armor, and Joan chose a bird mask and grey robes. Hans stuffed the noses of the masks with incense and herbs that he said would protect him from the poisonous fog outside in the storm, then handed them a small, pocket-sized tome of spells.

“Just in case,” He said. “You three be careful out there. And remember me when you’re legends.” He flashed a smile.

“Thank you, Hans. You too, Rocky,” Katherine said, dipping her head. “We won’t forget this.”

“No problem,” Hans said. “Go on, now. Good luck.”

Katherine nodded, opened the door, and then ventured into the Death Cloud with her companions.


	5. Chapter 5

After finally getting away from Holm and the Death Cloud, it was a long walk before the rolling green hills that characterized the north began to flatten out. Katherine and her companions stopped occasionally to gather water from clear streams and to rest, but then they walked again. They traveled south and east, hunting small game in order to supplement their meager rations and living off of the land.

Over the course of two days, their path led them to a lower elevation into rocky, broken terrain. Though it raised Katherine’s suspicions and filled her mouth with a bad taste, she was certain that they were going in the right direction. Before them was a fissure in the earth and a slim pass through which people were meant to travel. Katherine looked up at the overcast sky and shook her head.

Navigating down to the clearest path on the lowest part of the trail leading into the ravine was treacherous, especially with Catalina. Katherine worried over her getting down the slippery slope, with its loose rocks and shifting dirt, much to Catalina’s annoyance.

“I am FINE!” The Aasimar had barked, and then promptly slipped on an unsteady stone and nearly rolled down the remainder of the slope. Katherine managed to catch and steady her before she could fall forward and impale her stomach on a jagged rock.

“You are definitely fine,” Katherine said, assisting Catalina the rest of the way down.

“Hmph. Thanks.” Catalina said.

The entrance to the ravine’s cave yawned open to them, studded with fangs of stalactites. The rocky, uneven walkway was almost manageable compared to the steep, jagged paths Katherine could expect if they had tried to cross on either side. Whatever stream cut through these rocks had long dried up, which made going through them that much easier. Katherine lit a torch on a branch with a piece of flint, then traversed into the darkness with her companions.

The ravine floor was not especially difficult to walk across. Years of hard rushing water have carved a path through the rock and smoothed the stones underneath. But there was a sort of eerie silence that crept through the shadows, slinking after them with every step they took.

“This place gives me the creeps,” Catalina muttered, looking all around the tunnel. “Not to be a nun, but this place does not feel very celestial.”

Joan nodded gravely. “But it doesn’t feel very infernal, either,” She said, and rubbed her forearms as if she were trying to press down goosebumps. “It’s weird…”

Katherine flicked her ears and looked around. It was harder for her to catch traces of strangeness because of her wood elf bloodline, but even her own hair was standing on end. She didn’t like the feeling crawling over her; it didn’t feel natural.

The shadows of the ravine deepened the further they traveled into it. The sun penetrated the craggy rock formations overhead, but offered little of its warmth. The going got rougher underfoot, and it grew colder. They seemed to be going down.

“Did you live underground?” Catalina’s voice echoed throughout the cave, making Katherine jump.

Joan blinked up at Catalina. “Huh?”

“Did you live underground?” Catalina asked again.

“No?” Joan furrowed her eyebrows.

“Oh. I thought Tieflings lived in caves.”

Joan flicked her ears back, then shrugged awkwardly. “Maybe. I dunno. My village was kinda small.”

Katherine peered at Joan curiously, only just realizing that she didn’t know that much about her. The little Tiefling had been dragged along in this journey against her will, not that she seemed to mind. She was still very quiet, though, and kept to herself, probably because she was so used to it simply because of her race; Katherine had heard about the stories calling Tieflings demons.

“My bad,” Catalina said. She squinted through the darkness ahead.

Katherine and her companions took turns pointing out particularly perilous sections of the ground where twisting an ankle would be a matter of a single step. There were grooves and dips in the stone, pressing mercilessly into the arches of their feet as they walked along.

Ahead, the path widened into a kind of clearing at the heart of the ravine. This was the deepest part of the natural formation, and the light was all but extinguished here. Dread was still hanging over Katherine’s head like a silver sword.

As they walked up through a winding tunnel, the smell of smoke waved down at them. Light was slowly starting to return as the ravine began to open up again. But the sky outside the cave was dark and grey, signaling a storm, and wetness coated everything beyond the protective rocky overhangs. The dried out river beds were beginning to fill up again; Katherine wondered if the ravine would be flooded.

It was a perilous climb out of the gorge, but the three of them make it out onto a grassy field that has been reduced to more of a lake because of the rain. They spotted a city around a mile away, smoke whirling into the air from houses beyond a tall wooden wall, and headed for it, hoping for a place to rest.

A few soldiers were huddled around struggling fires, some dressed in spiky leather armor, others in the same peasant garb they were wearing when ordered to serve, most likely because of the city being short handed on fighters. They were all slimed in so much mud and grime that not even the rain could wash it away, and they all appeared very tired, but still jumped up with their weapons when they noticed the group approaching.

“You three! Stop there!”

Turning toward the voice, Katherine saw a half-elf woman striding through the murk in their direction. She wiped some rainwater from her eyes, twitching her small, pointy ears, and brandished a rake. Katherine took it as a blessing that Catalina didn’t burst out laughing.

“Chauback is under quarantine. What’s your business here?”

And then, without letting any of them say something, a smaller human guard piped up, “They’re the doctors! Look at the masks!” He had seen the animal masks buckled to their waists. “I told you they would come, Nasha!”

The half-elf, Nasha, paused, looking the three of them up and down again as she considered her next move. “Right.” She pulled her rake away. “Can’t be too careful. I need to clear this with Mayor Oron.” She glanced at them one last time, then hurried through the wooden gates.

The rain splashed around Katherine and her companions and dripped from their sleeves. They blinked at each other, clearly confused. Just as Catalina opened her mouth to say something, a human man came dashing over, almost losing his footing in the mud. He grabbed Katherine’s shoulder.

“Are you a doctor?” He gasped out. Then, not waiting for a reply, “Come with me. My friend needs medicine. Please.”

Catalina and Joan exchanged looks beside Katherine, but Katherine, sensing the man’s urgency, said, “This sounds serious. Let’s go at once.” without even really thinking it through.

“Thank you. Follow me.” He took off back through the mud. Katherine and her companions put their masks on and then struggled after him, keen not to end up with a face full of waterlogged turf. He stopped periodically to beckon them onward with an exaggerated wave.

Their short journey took them to a makeshift blacksmith’s table and extinguished forge. It appeared the smith was partway through the repair or creation of some crude pieces of chest armor when the rain cut the process short. The man ducked into a living quarter area attached to the blacksmith building, and the trio followed, vainly attempting to shake rain from their clothes before they stepped inside.

“Help him. Help Pava, please,” The human begged. “His leg… It’s not healing.”

On the small bed in the corner laid a shaky gnome man, blonde-haired and pale-faced. An unpleasant gash carved a jagged groove down his left leg. He let out a low moan.

“I’ve brought a healer, Pava. Everything will be well now.” The human moved over to Pava and took his hand, looking at the trio with nervous expectation.

Katherine moved closer to study the wound in Pava’s leg. The gash was deep, a zigzagged red tear in the man’s leg. It was inflamed dark crimson with fangs of shredded flesh and a maw that gargled creamy pus. It smelled foul, but Katherine had knowledge in healing from her life in the forest. 

“I need honey,” Katherine said to the man. “And ginger.” She swung her head around to Joan. “Joan, run out and get me some old man’s beard lichen. It was out on the trees near the ravine. Do you remember what it looks like? I used it to wrap your wrists.”

Joan cast a dismayed look at the stormy weather outside, then nodded and hurried back out into the rain. The human man followed close after her, but with more urgency in his step. Catalina lingered in the room, shifting from foot to foot.

Once all the supplies were brought back to the house, Katherine began by slathering the length of the wound in honey. Pava cried out and gripped the bedsheets, but didn’t jerk away.

“What’s it for?” The human asked, glancing nervously over Katherine’s shoulder as she worked.

“Honey can flush out wounds and remove infections,” Katherine explained. “It’ll help clean the injury.”

The human nodded. “Thank you. Thank you so much. If he went in wounded, they wouldn’t let him…” He trailed off with an anxiety-ridden expression. Katherine looked back at him, but didn’t ask.

After scraping off the honey and cleaning the rest of the wound out with water, Katherine mixed ginger in with the strips of old man’s beard lichen Joan had brought. She wrapped the lichen around Pava’s leg, then dressed it in a second layer of fresh bandages to step back to admire her handiwork.

“That should keep the wound safe until it heals,” Katherine said. “Make sure to clean the bandages every few hours.”

The human nodded gratefully, vigorously shaking Katherine’s hand. “Thank you, ma’am. Thank you. Thank you.”

Katherine nodded and smiled, even if it couldn’t be seen under her mask, then walked out of the house. Catalina and Joan trailed after her quietly, saying nothing.

Nasha found them as they circled around blindly in the town square. The city was dull and packed, houses pressed together tightly, but with not many people out on the streets. There were a few wooden gates with white X’s over them, which blocked off entrances to alleyways. They were led away from those to a big stone house, where a nervous-looking firbolg was pacing around in a mess of leather strips and metal scraps.

“Mayor Oron,” Nasha dipped her head. “The doctors are here.”

The firbolg perked up, hitting his head on the low ceiling. He rubbed the top of his skull as he bustled over, gesturing for the trio to come inside. 

“Come in, come in,” He said. “It’s a relief that you’re finally here. Chauback is in the grip of a pandemic we cannot explain. Hence the general summons for plague doctors. It’s running rampant and eating away at people I need.”

Katherine nodded her head. “We will do whatever we can.”

She missed the confused looks Catalina and Joan exchanged behind her back.

After speaking with the mayor, the three of them found the closest thing to an inn near the heart of the settlement, and its half-orc proprietress looked at their mask-clad selves with open disdain. She gruffly offered a place to sleep, a hot meal and a bath for free of charge because of their service in the village, but she didn’t seem very happy about the lack of payment.

The meal she offered was simple fare: vegetables boiled beyond recognition and a simple fish broth, but it was hot and therefore welcome. After they’ve eaten in a companionable enough silence, Katherine asked her about the illness in Chauback. She bristled at the question initially, but eventually answered.

The half-orc told them in clipped sentences about how the illness had been controlled at first, just peasant people at first, but then migrated into richer parts of the city. The rain and humidity didn’t help either. Chauback had become a stinking cesspool of a breeding ground for disease in less than two years. 

After finishing their modest dinner they were offered a bath. The water was lukewarm at best and there was no soap to speak of, but there were some oils they all slathered themselves in. Catalina got to bathe first, then Joan, and then Katherine, and by the time she got into the bath, the water had turned murky and cold.

They were given a private room in the loft, close to the low-hanging sloped ceiling, and Katherine had to duck slightly to keep from hitting her head when she walked up the steps.

Joan was asleep by the time Katherine’s bath was finished. She was curled up on a straw cot, snuggled under a frayed wool blanket. Catalina was still awake and flipping through the spell tome Hans had given them. She squinted at Katherine when she stepped into the lantern’s glow.

“What exactly do you think you’re doing?”

“What?” Katherine turned to her.

Catalina closed the book. “We aren’t doctors. We can’t help these people. What were you thinking?”

Katherine flicked her ears back. “I know some things. Faedi taught me how to treat wounds and what plants have healing properties.”

“But stopping an entire plague?” Catalina shook her head. “These people are going to die.”

“No, they’re not.” Katherine growled, clenching her fists. Catalina caught her mounting anger and furrowed her eyebrows. Katherine relaxed, letting her ears droop slightly. “I just--” She sighed. “I want to try and help people. Because I couldn’t help anyone in Ghent…”

“Oh,” Catalina said, understanding. “Oh, that’s what this is about?” She got up and hugged Katherine. “Kat… What happened in Ghent wasn’t your fault. You did your best.”

“I _ran_.” Katherine said. “I didn’t stay to help them, I didn’t make sure everyone was okay, I just ran away.”

“You stayed alive for them,” Catalina corrected. “And you’re going to be the hero for them. I just know it.”

Katherine looked into her warm dark brown eyes, then nodded. “Alright.”

Catalina bumped her head with hers. “I’ll stay and try to help here. We’ll do our best.”

“Thank you, Lina.”

“No problem, Kat. Anything for you.”

\------

The next day was a mess of blood and gore. 

Katherine, Catalina, and Joan saw dozens of patients, all worse than the last. One man had pus-filled boils bulging all over his body, and one woman’s leg seemed to be literally rotting while it was still attached. They had to cut that limb off, and the resulting scream was haunting, but the smell was worse.

Instead of blood, a thick, greenish-yellow liquid came pouring out of the wound. It reeked of decay and burbled endlessly from the severed leg. Joan had careened out of the tent to vomit.

But that wasn’t all. They got a patient swarmed with flies trying to lay their eggs in a gash on his leg, a patient with her skin peeling off in huge, rotting strips on her feet, a patient pox all along his belly, a patient with his face and neck bulging beyond belief.

It was awful. So awful.

When Katherine was getting some fresh air out of the rot-smelling houses, she noticed one of the wooden gates blocking off alleyways creaking open, revealing a hunched form draped in a ragged coat several sizes too big, its face mostly hidden by a matted scarf and a too-big cowl. It took her a moment, but she realized it was a high elf man.

She was not sure if he was coming for her or if he was simply moving on to a new haunt, but either way she felt an uncomfortable tightening in her stomach at the thought of facing this insane-looking person. She could barely tell what he looked like beneath all that clothing of his, but she caught glimpses of bronze skin festering with boils and disease. When he noticed her, the tips of his pointy ears peeking out of his covers perked up.

“Doctor,” He rasped, reaching out a peeling hand, and then Nasha from the day before herded him back behind the gate and locked it.

“Sorry about that,” She said. 

“Who was that? Shouldn’t I help him?” Katherine asked.

Nasha shook her head. “No point. They’re too contagious and way too far gone. The best we can do is keep them away from everyone else. Come on, you need to get back to work.”

So, the day went on, and by nightfall, Katherine didn’t think her sense of smell would ever return to normal.

That night, Katherine heard whimpering in the dark. She got out of bed, and realized that Joan was crying in her sleep.

“Joan,” Katherine murmured, shaking the little Tiefling. “Joan, honey, wake up. You’re okay. Wake up.”

Joan gasped awake, her eyes popping open into wideness. She whimpered in fright when she saw Katherine looming over her and curled into a tight ball, coiling her tail in close and covering her hands with her head.

“N-no!” She squeaked. “P-please don’t hurt me!”

“Shh, shh,” Katherine stroked her frazzled white-blonde hair, and found that it was laden with sweat from her nightmare. “It’s just me, sweetheart. It’s Katherine.”

“K-Katherine?” Joan peeked out from behind her arms. 

“Yes, sweet girl. It’s just me. You’re okay. Nobody is going to hurt you.”

Joan whimpered again; it was such a heartbreaking sound.

“Wanna sleep with me tonight?” Katherine asked.

Joan looked up at her, then nodded. Katherine scooped her up into her arms with ease and carried her to her cot, letting the little Tiefling curl against her.

“You’re okay, sweetheart,” Katherine murmured, running her fingers through Joan’s hair. “You’re okay. I won’t let anyone hurt you, I promise. I’ll protect you.”

Katherine fell asleep that night with a strong maternal instinct bubbling inside of her.

\------

“It hurts,” Moaned the half-elf man Joan was working on. The lightning bolt-shaped gash in his side wouldn’t stop belching pus and blood onto the young Tiefling’s claws. “It hurts…”

“It’s going to be okay, Erem,” Said the human woman clutching one of his hands. “They’re going to help you.”

“Alright, be gentle, Joan,” Katherine instructed. “Slather the honey on the wound. That’ll help draw out the infection.”

Joan nodded and began covering fingerfuls of honey into the wound. But along with the infection, more blood began to come out. And Erem started to whimper in distress, and then went very still and very silent.

“Erem?” The human began shaking the half-elf, but he did not wake up. “Erem?!” She whipped her head around to Joan and Katherine. “You killed him! You fucking killed him!”

“She must have accidentally cut a vessel with her claws,” Katherine said, glancing at the oozing wound. She noticed the human take out a knife and quickly put herself between her and Joan. “Woah, woah, woah! Calm down!”

“You killed Erem!” The woman screeched. “You murderer! Murderer!!”

Katherine and Joan backed up out of the house. People were starting to gather around them at the screaming, suddenly looking a lot more angry. Catalina bustled over with supplies she had run out to grab, confused.

“What’s going on?” She asked.

“You’re all murderers!” The knife-wielding woman howled, and Katherine could see that her mind was not all there anymore. Maybe it never had been. “I bet you’re not even real doctors! You’ve just been lying to us!”

The village got enraged when the trio hesitated. Whispers of curiosity turned into roars of fury and insanity. Suddenly, a lot more of them were brandishing weapons, and Katherine ordered Catalina and Joan to run.

They dashed through the city, down streets and across town squares, but couldn’t find a place to hide.

So, it was Katherine who shouted for them to go through one of the wooden gates.

The alleyway they ran into was dark and moist. Solid stone turned to mush beneath their feet, and the smell of rot that infected the rest of the city got a lot worse, so much so that Katherine could taste the decay when they breathed through her mouth.

A scant sliver of sunlight revealed a corridor of corpses and a river of rot running down the alley.

“Oh my god,” Catalina muttered.

There were so many bodies. So many pale white, limp bodies piled in the street. They were oozing, skin peeling, bubbling with disease. Flesh had burst open from illness, and liquidated organs were pouring down onto the stone below, becoming warm, moist homes for wriggling maggots.

With a jolt, Katherine realized several of the corpses were bearing the mark of Queen Jane Seymour- a white lioness.

“They’re breeding the disease,” Joan whispered. “That’s why they weren’t letting these people get help. They wanted them to get sick and die...or not die.” She cast a disturbed look over at a man who appeared to still be moving, even with his shoulders and thighs infested with larvae. “I think they want to use the disease to kill off more forces in the war.”

“This is horrible,” Catalina said. “How could someone do something like this?”

Before any of them could answer, a man yelled from behind, “They went this way!”

“Come on,” Katherine urged, and they all continued running, deeper into the depths of the disease.

“Get back here!!” Roared a voice from behind.

Joan yelped loudly when her hooves slipped in the slop below. She jolted up and dashed to the left, disappearing from Katherine’s sight. Katherine felt a wrench in her heart, but couldn’t stop to go after her.

Katherine and Catalina ran into a cathedral in a pavilion. There seemed to be an entire chunk of the city that was blocked off. They shut the door as quietly as possible and ran to the far back, hiding behind the raised dais.

“Never thought I would return to a church in these circumstances,” Catalina attempted to joke, laughing dryly.

“This is so horrible,” Katherine whispered, shuddering.

“I know, I-I know,” Catalina whispered. “We have to get out of here. They’re going to kill us.”

And then, with immaculate comedic timing, a huge, thickly-muscled blue arm burst through the nearby window and grabbed Catalina by the throat.

Katherine and Catalina both screaming as the mayor, Oron, climbed through the broken window and stepped inside the church. He held a wickedly-curved knife to Catalina’s belly, causing the Aasimar to tense.

“Don’t make another move,” Oron breathed down Catalina’s neck, “or I’ll slice her open and rip out the baby myself.”

“Don’t hurt her!” Katherine yelled.

Oron peered down at the bump. “What a stupid time to get knocked up. Do you really want the baby to grow up in a time of war?”

Katherine saw Catalina grit her teeth, trying not to move. She looked into her eyes, and they were flashing in panic.

“I would be doing you and it a favor by killing it,” Oron went on.

“You have no right!” Katherine growled.

“And you had no right to lie to me and kill my people!” Oron bellowed back. 

“We helped you! We helped a lot of people!” Katherine said. “And you didn’t even deserve it! We’ve seen what you’ve done!”

Oron chuckled gruffly. “It was Henry’s idea. When he heard about our problem, he knew he could use it to his advantage in the war. Sending the infected to infect the enemy. A perfect plan.”

“You’re vile,” Catalina spat, then sucked in a sharp breath when Oron pressed the knife closer to her stomach.

“Let her go,” Katherine growled lowly. “Don’t hurt her. Please.”

Oron laughed, opened his mouth to say something, and then gagged blood when a shard of glass went through his throat. 

Catalina jerked away when Oron’s arms around her went slack, and she and Katherine watched as he tottered forward, gasping and gurgling as red oozed down his chest. They turned their heads to Joan, perched in the broken window, breathing heavily.

“Come on!” Joan shouted.

Catalina couldn’t climb through the window, so Katherine escorted her out the church’s front doors. They followed Joan to a back alley against the wooden walls that surrounded the city. There was a gap between the logs, chipped away from weather and wind. 

“We can get out through here,” Joan said, pointing.

“Do you REALLY think I can fit through there?” Catalina said.

“You can try!” Katherine said.

Luckily, they were all able to wiggle through the gap with just a few minor cuts and splinters. Crisp, fresh air hit them in a tidal wave and they all breathed in a sharp breath of oxygen that wasn’t tainted with disease and rot.

“Holy shit,” Catalina panted after they dashed for a tree line. “That was…”

“Eventful,” Katherine finished. “God…” She pressed a hand to her forehead and shook her head. “Lina, is there a fire spell in that book?”

Catalina glanced at her, then nodded, understanding. She opened up the tome and flipped to a specific page. She muttered an incantation, formed a fireball in her hand, and then threw it into the walls of Chauback.

The city went up in flames.

After all, not everyone could be saved.


	6. Chapter 6

Katherine awoke with a start, drenched in sweat despite the morning chill.

Her dreams had been a chaotic jumble of frightening images; she remembered looking up at a firbolg man in a rabbit mask holding a scalpel as two leather strips strapped her down.

“This won't hurt a bit,” The doctor said as he began cutting into pus-filled boils across her exposed midsection. She could still feel the phantom pain of the blade as the dream slowly faded. She groaned. Another day. Another chance to change the world.

She, Catalina, and Joan had set up camp a few miles away from Chauback, but they could still see the smoke through the trees. When Katherine checked the sky that morning, she saw that the smoke was dark grey- the city was still burning. That’s what Joan had said the night before, at least.

“Grey smoke means the fire is still going on,” The young Tiefling had said. “White smoke means it’s done.”

Katherine tried not to think about the fire. All those people deserved to die for what they had done, and it was also the only way to stop the infection from spreading outside of the walls. But still, she thought about the lives lost to the flames--or maybe she was just thinking about the horrid smell of burning flesh mixed with rot.

Melting decaying skin. Yuck.

Katherine climbed down from the tree she had slept in- her wood elf heritage and childhood in the forest made sleeping in the curves of branches normal, though she would have much preferred a proper bed. She shook dew droplets off of her, then looked around the small clearing they were set up in.

Joan was playing in a slowly-moving river, despite the colder temperature that morning. She was splashing around, kicking up water with her hooves, which had been thoroughly cleaned of mud and blood and bits of mushed organs the day before. A fat brown toad leaped out of some rocks when she stomped by, and she turned to it, wiggling her tail like a curious cat, and then pounced. 

Catalina was sitting on a log infested with fuzzy, bright green moss. She was rubbing her belly in slow circles, looking off into the woods with a distant expression. Katherine sat next to her, and she snapped out of her daze.

“Good morning,” Katherine said.

“Good morning,” Catalina responded, then passed Katherine some red and blue berries. “Joan found these earlier. They’re probably not poisonous.”

Katherine chuckled, popping one in her mouth. “They aren’t.”

The two of them sat in silence for a moment, watching as Joan rolled in the water, still trying to find the toad. Her tail slapped loudly on the surface of the river, sending a spray of droplets over her. 

“I’m sorry,” Katherine suddenly blurted.

Catalina looked at her strangely. “What?”

“I’m sorry,” Katherine said again. “For dragging you into this. Into all of this. You just came to Ghent to get a checkup, and now you’re wrapped up in some mission to stop the war. I’m sorry.”

Catalina snorted, nudging Katherine. “Oh, stop that,” She said. “I’m having fun! This is fun! So much more eventful than my life as a nun, trust me.”

Katherine smiled slightly. “Well, I’m glad you aren’t mad.”

“I would never be mad at you,” Catalina said.

Katherine set a hand on Catalina’s belly and rubbed it gently. There was a light kick beneath her hand, and Catalina grinned.

“That’s Auntie Kat,” She said to her stomach.

Katherine felt a flutter of happiness in her chest. “Auntie Kat?”

Catalina beamed at her. “Of course!”

Katherine smiled brightly. “I’m glad I get to be the aunt of little Catalina Jr.”

Catalina laughed loudly. “Catalina Jr.? Really?”

“What? I’m not good with names!” Katherine said. She resumed rubbing Catalina’s stomach gently, which made her roll her eyes in amusement.

“It’s not going to jump out and bite you.” Catalina teased. She took Katherine by the wrist and moved her hand to rub the bump more firmly. “They won’t feel you if you do it so softly.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.” Katherine said.

“You won’t, silly.” Catalina nudged her. “Oh, and by the way, I am not naming them Catalina Jr.”

“What?” Katherine gasped in horror, making Catalina laugh again. “Rejecting my perfect name idea? Catalina Jr. is an amazing name!”

“But _I’m_ Catalina.” Catalina said. “Besides, what if it’s a boy?”

“Okay, then let’s hear your fantastic names!” 

“Booze.”

Katherine burst into laughter so loud some birds bolted from the trees in a panic. Even Joan turned to her, her ears twitching, before she resumed playing. Catalina looked at Katherine in amusement.

“WHAT?” Katherine sputtered. “BOOZE?”

“Yeah!” Catalina said joyfully. “Because I love it so much! And I’m being banned from it.”

Katherine continued to laugh so hard she snorted, and Catalina began to giggle with her.

“You are NOT naming your baby Booze,” Katherine said. 

“You’re not the boss of me!”

“It’s just common decency!”

They giggled together.

“In all seriousness, I don’t know,” Catalina said. She leaned back and looked up at the sky in thought. “I like Mary for a girl. And Hal for a boy.”

Katherine smiled. “Those are beautiful names,” She said. “You’re going to be such a good mom.”

Catalina smiled proudly. And then her gaze slid over to Joan splashing in the river and she frowned.

“Have you noticed the way she always looks around when we go places?” Catalina whispered to Katherine. “She’s looking for other Tieflings. I think she misses her people.”

Katherine looked at Joan and frowned, realizing how much she didn’t know about her. She could see how this journey would be so strange for her.

“I’m going to go talk to her,” Katherine said, standing up.

She walked over to the river and watched as Joan romped around in the water. The young Tiefling twitched her ears, then looked up at her.

“Isn’t it cold?” Katherine asked.

Joan shrugged. “Kinda.”

“Honey?” Joan turned to her again. “Are you feeling okay with everything going on?”

Joan shrugged again. “I mean-- It’s a lot to take in, but I like travelling with you guys. I do.”

“But?”

Joan shuffled her hooves in the water. “I dunno… There’s just a lot going on, and yesterday…” She trailed off.

It dawned on Katherine. 

“Are you upset about killing Oron?”

Joan avoided eye contact, and Katherine had her answer.

“Oh, honey…” Katherine opened her arms. “Come here.”

Joan hesitated for just a moment, then darted into the embrace. Katherine held her tightly, rubbing up and down her back.

“You saved Catalina, you know that? Probably me too.” Katherine told her. “That was a bad man. He had to die.”

“I know,” Joan whispered. “I-I’m just…” She whimpered.

“Shh, shh,” Katherine swayed her in place. “It’s alright, sweetie, it’s alright…”

Katherine held Joan for a long moment, assuring her that everything was okay. She couldn’t begin to think about how much this weighed on poor Joan’s young mind. 

The trio soon began to pack up to start moving once again. Joan had calmed down, eased by Katherine’s gentle words and caring touches. And when they began to leave, Katherine looked to the sky, and saw that the smoke whirling from Chauback had turned white.


	7. Chapter 7

“Come on,” Katherine whispered. She and her companions had been running through the forest for god knows how long, unable to stop because of a threat they couldn’t see in the darkness of the night. Four days since Chauback, and their resting time had ended.

As they hurried through the woods, feeling the sharp tingling of magic stinging against their skin, a strange sound came from the trees. It was hard to explain, like the squeal of a pig mixed with the howl of a wolf, but poorly done by humanoid vocal cords instead of animalistic ones. It started to their far left, then echoed all around them from every direction, no matter how fast or how far they ran.

Then, there was light. A glowing orb cast by a wizard was tossed high up into the air, and the hundreds of soldiers wearing the mark of a tusked lupine were revealed, all howl-squealing in unison.

It was horrifying. Truly horrifying.

Katherine knocked an arrow in an instant, and Catalina and Joan drew their own weapons, but Katherine knew they were useless. They were surrounded on all sides by soldiers that were armed to the teeth, all of them ready to strike.

“Well, well, well,” Said a voice from the far side of the clearing. “Look who we found.”

A giant Minotaur stepped out of the shadows, seemingly getting bigger the closer and closer he got. He was huge, probably nine feet tall, with mud brown fur covering every inch of his body. His bare chest was broad and rippling with muscles, and his thick horns curved upwards into deadly points, their tips permanently stained by blood. There was a shiny golden ring in his nose, and necklaces of bones wound around his neck rattled loudly when he moved. He brandished a heavy steel war hammer as he approached the trio.

“It’s about time we finally met.”

Katherine and her companions were roughly stripped of their weapons and then forced down onto their knees. Closer to the ground, the minotaur towered over them.

“Are you Henry?” Catalina asked.

“Oh, yes, I am,” The minotaur replied. “Henry Mannox.” He paused, gauging their reactions. “What? You really thought I was the big man himself?” He laughed. “If only. But no. You can just call me Mannox. Funny name, isn’t it? Mannox. I’m a man who is also an ox.” He laughed a deep, guttural laugh.

Catalina scoffed, and Mannox’s expression hardened. He eyed her belly, then said, “I wouldn’t be laughing if I were you, slut.”

Catalina stiffened instantly, but still glowered at the minotaur. He laughed again.

“I’m joking! I’m joking!” He said. “Calm down. We’re all friends here.”

He gazed at each of them slowly, and Katherine wanted to squirm underneath his hungry black eyes.

“You must be the elf princess I heard about,” Mannox said to Katherine. “You are a lot prettier than I expected for a tree-fucker. How about I show you what real wood looks like, eh?” He edged closer to Katherine, spreading apart his hooves in a crude stance, and Katherine turned her head away so she wouldn’t have to look at the very prominent bulge in his trousers. “What’s wrong, flower? Don’t like it? I grew it just for you.”

Katherine growled softly underneath her breath, still avoiding eye contact with the bull’s manhood. She could feel shame burning on the tips of her ears and fear welling up in the base of her throat.

“Disappointing,” Mannox grunted, stepping back. He whipped his long tail and then looked to Joan, his eyebrows raising in interest. “Well, aren’t you a little freak of nature.”

Joan’s ears flicked back. She curled her tail in, trying to seem smaller. She couldn’t have even been half of the minotaur’s size, even when she wasn’t on her knees.

“I’ve never seen a Tiefling like you before. Well, I haven’t seen very many Tieflings left anyway, but you are just weird.” Mannox said. “What is WRONG with you?”

“Leave her alone,” Catalina growled.

“I wasn’t talking to you, fat cow,” Mannox said, glancing at her. “Do what you do best and put a dick in your mouth. I’ll get to you soon.” He turned his head back to Joan, missing the way Catalina glared furiously at the ground. “Well, little demon? Are you going to answer me?”

Joan did not. She seemed too petrified with terror to even open her mouth to attempt a reply.

“I’m not surprised,” Mannox said. “All Tieflings are useless beasts.”

He stepped back to get a good look at all of them. He hefted his war hammer in his hands.

“Now, I’m assuming you were the ones who blew up Chauback, yes?” He said, and didn’t wait for an answer. “Not cool, ladies. You know how long it took to stockpile offending soldiers and then breed the illness through them? We had an entire plan based around this city and you just burned it all down--literally!” He shook his head. “You’re going to have to pay for that, I’m afraid.”

Katherine’s heart began to beat wildly in her chest. She looked around for a possible escape route but couldn’t find anything- they were completely surrounded and had no weapons at all. They would be killed the moment they attempted to fight back or run.

She looked at her companions to see how they were doing. Catalina was tense, fists clenched tightly at her sides, face ghost white with fear. Joan was shaking like a leaf in the wind, claws curled in her trousers, eyes brimming with tears. They both looked as helpless as she felt.

Were they going to die?

Was this it? Was their journey already over?

“What to do, what to do…” Mannox wondered aloud, pacing back and forth, idly swinging his war hammer in the air like it weighed nothing. “I can’t let you off with just a warning. Not after ruining one of our bigger war plans. No, the King would not be happy with that.” He stopped and peered at them all. “I could randomly kill one of you. But that isn’t very satisfying.” He thought for a moment longer, and then his face lit up. “I got it.”

His hooves thumping loudly into the dirt, Mannox strode over to Katherine and grabbed her by the shoulder. He dragged her to the center of the clearing and roughly dropped her to the ground. Katherine grunted, then heard Catalina hiss and saw her jolt forward, making a cluster of sharp weapons bristle towards her.

“If you hurt her,” The Aasimar growled, her breaking voice betraying her outward toughness. “If you _dare_ \--”

“Ah, ah, ah,” Mannox said in a patronizing tone, waggling a finger towards Catalina. “I’d watch what you say, slut. Because even if you do get to me and kill me, elfie, here, will already be dead. And then what shall you do?” He aimed the sharp point of his war hammer to Katherine’s temple, and Katherine tensed, staring into Catalina’s frightened eyes. “Now. Little freak. Come here.”

Joan didn’t move. She seemed to be in a trance of sorts.

“Tiefling!” Mannox roared, and that caused Joan to flinch back with a whimper. She looked up at him, tears glowing in her pale grey eyes. “Come here. /Now/.”

Joan looked at Katherine frightfully, and Katherine nodded to her, so she began standing up slowly. Mannox growled impatiently and stomped across the clearing, dragging Joan over by one of her horns.

“Stop!” Katherine shouted, hearing Joan whimper in distress. “Don’t hurt her!”

“Ah, so the princess does have a voice,” Mannox threw Joan to the ground. “Calm down, flower, I just had her by the horns. It doesn’t hurt her.”

But the expression of pure torment on Joan’s face begged to differ.

Mannox whistled at one of his soldiers, and a human man handed him an axe with a sawtooth edge and a thick strip of leather. He knelt down to Katherine.

“Are you right or left handed?” He asked. 

“Right,” Katherine answered through gritted teeth, and Mannox pushed her down flat onto her back and tied a tourniquet around her left arm with the leather strip.

“I can be somewhat merciful,” He said, tightening the knot. He turned and grabbed Joan by the horn again, dragging her across the dirt to be in front of Katherine, then thrust the axe in her hands. “There.” He stood up. “Now, little monster. Cut the elf’s arm off.”

Silence, chilling and horrible. Katherine felt like she had just been dropped into an icy ocean. She looked up at Joan knelt over her, and saw that the young Tiefling had gone very still with shock.

“Go on,” Mannox gestured vaguely. “I really don’t know why you’re being so reluctant. She’ll still be alive! That tourniquet will keep her from bleeding out! Probably. This is still better than straight-up murdering her, don’t you think?”

“I-I can’t,” Joan whispered.

Mannox narrowed his eyes. “What was that?”

Joan turned to him, eyes glistening with tears, and said, “I can’t.”

As fast as a bullwhip, Mannox was across the clearing and to Catalina. He yanked up the hem of her hide armored tunic to reveal her taut, shiny pregnant belly to the light. Katherine thought she looked a little bigger than she had been in Ghent. Mannox poised the sharp tip of his hammer to the bump.

“Would you rather cut out the baby, then?” He asked lowly.

Joan whimpered in distress. Mannox smirked and peered down at Catalina’s stomach. He began to rub all over it firmly with both of his large, furry hands, and Katherine could see the discomfort written all over Catalina’s face.

“Do you know what it’s gonna be yet?” He asked. “Because I think Henry Mannox Jr. is a mighty fine name for a boy.” Suddenly, he let out a loud laugh, drawing one hand back momentarily, and Katherine assumed the baby must have kicked. “Damn, that’s a FEISTY little guy inside of you! So strong already! I wonder how nice and fat you’ll be by the end of this. You could get even bigger, though, you know.” 

Mannox leaned in close, pressing his big black bovine nose against Catalina’s ear and breathing down her neck, and Katherine had to strain her hearing to discern the disgusting words he whispered to her.

“How would you like to add a calf to the litter?”

Katherine could see how much Catalina hated this. The shame was burned bright red all over her face, and her jaw was clenched firmly, like she was trying to swallow back a barrage of colorful swear words and insults, or maybe even a cry of hopelessness. She knew her friend hated being reduced to total helplessness, hated not being in control of things, hated being patronized for her pregnancy, so this had to be her worst nightmare.

Mannox laughed loudly and gave Catalina’s belly a hearty slap, which made the Aasimar gasp out loud and clutch at her stomach. He ignored her distress and said, “I’d probably rip you open, but damn would you look nice and fat with my babies by the end of it.” He chuckled in a deep, sensual way that made Katherine’s stomach turn with disgust. He turned his head back to Joan. “So...what will it be?”

“Joan,” Katherine said to the young Tiefling, making her look at her in despair. “The baby can’t be harmed. It has to live.”

“B-but your arm,” Joan stammered.

“I can live without it,” Katherine said, trying to sound much braver than she felt. “But the baby can’t die. It can’t.”

“I’m waiting.” Mannox said. He released Catalina and walked back over, watching the pair carefully.

“I can’t,” Joan whispered hoarsely. Tears streamed free and splattered down against Katherine’s face. “I can’t, Katherine, I can’t…! I can’t hurt you!”

“I’ll be okay,” Katherine said, even though she was more than terrified at that moment. “It’ll all be okay. Just close your eyes and do it.”

“I can’t!” Joan wailed. “I can’t! I can’t!”

“Come on, beast,” Mannox said. “Cut off her arm or you know what happens.” He snapped, and several soldiers surrounded Catalina with their weapons pressed against her stomach. Joan sobbed in anguish at the sight.

“Look at me, sweetheart,” Katherine said, softening her voice. She caressed Joan’s cheek with her free hand, and felt the young Tiefling press into it, whimpering like a kicked puppy. “It’s going to be alright. I’ll be fine, I promise.”

Joan shook her head furiously. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” She wept. Her tears were almost invisible on her pasty white skin, but Katherine could feel them dripping onto her own cheeks. She turned to Mannox, pleading, “C-cut off my arm! You can cut off mine! _I_ can cut off my arm! O-or my tail! J-just please--please don’t make me do this!”

Mannox shook his head. “You are really turning out to be a disappointment, little monster,” He said. “That is NOT what I told you to do. I told you to cut off the elf’s arm, so that is what you’re going to do. No if’s, and’s, or but’s about it!”

Joan’s entire body convulsed with the weight of a sob so painful-sounding it made Katherine’s heart ache. 

“Please, please, please,” Joan babbled through a storm of tears.

“Are you really choosing an arm--the elf’s non-dominant arm, mind you--over a living, innocent little baby?” Mannox snorted. “You really might be a monster after all. I might just make you cut the whore’s child out, since you seem to want to do so so badly. Is that what you want, creature?”

“No!” Joan cried. “N-no! No, no, no, no!”

“That’s what I thought.” Mannox said. His voice hardened into firm cruelness. “Cut the elf’s arm off, beast.”

Joan looked down at Katherine again, breathing heavily. She seemed to be having an attack of some sort from the wheezing, ragged breaths she was taking. Katherine watched in fear as she gripped the axe, but still nodded to her comfortingly anyway.

“It’ll all be okay, sweetheart,” Katherine told her. 

Joan whimpered sharply. The axe was quaking in her quivering hands. Katherine could see how sick she looked when she was holding it.

“Don’t make me count to three,” Mannox said.

He didn’t have to. Because Joan suddenly jerked her arm up so swiftly Katherine flinched. Katherine slammed her eyes shut and awaited the excruciating pain of her arm being severed.

But she didn’t feel anything.

Nothing happened.

There was a loud laugh, and, after a moment, Katherine pried her eyes open to see Mannox holding Joan by the wrist, stopping her just before she could cut Katherine’s arm off.

“Damn, girl!” Mannox chortled. “I almost didn’t catch you in time!”

Joan craned her head around slowly, so slowly to look up at Mannox. She didn’t appear to be breathing in her horror.

“If you had just let me count to three, I would have let you stop,” Mannox said. “I was never going to actually make you cut off her arm. That would have been a huge waste and not very satisfying in my humble opinion. But you just went for it!” He rumbled a deep chuckle. “It took you a moment, but you were BRUTAL! You were going to cut off this innocent elf’s arm in cold blood! You really are a monster.”

Joan dropped the axe and collapsed to the side, instantly curling up into a tight ball. Katherine sat up and tried to comfort her, but Mannox got in her way.

“Listen to me closely, elf,” He said. “All three of you listen to me. You better not get in our way again, and you sure as hell better not ruin anything for us. You either fight with us or you die. It’s that simple.” He squared his shoulders back, chuckling. “But it has been fun. I’ve learned a lot of things about you people from this encounter. I do hope you disobey my words; it’ll be a real pleasure to see you again.”

With a final, horrible smile, he whistled and gave a hand gesture, and the troops began to depart.

“Oh, and we’ll be taking everything you got,” Mannox said as soldiers began roughly removing items from Katherine, Catalina, and Joan. He noticed one of them taking the dead squirrel from Joan’s belt, then waved his hand. “They can keep that. It’s just scraps.”

The soldiers shrugged and tossed the squirrel back onto Joan’s tightly-curled body.

“Goodbye, ladies.”

In a bustling of metal and a cloud of dust, the troops were gone, leaving Katherine, Catalina, and Joan in the shambles of shock over what had happened.

Silence hung heavy in the clearing for a long time, only broken by Joan’s ragged gasps and whimpers. Catalina was completely silent; she seemed to be in a state of shock. But still, she could move, it seemed, because she crawled over on her hands and knees to Katherine, buried her face into her neck, and cried. Katherine pressed her head against Catalina’s own, then tugged Joan into her side, feeling the young Tiefling dig her claws in as she held onto her for dear life.

Together, they all cried until the noises turned into a full death-rattle of three helpless prey weeping in the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey uhh..... i hate begging for comments, but they would be greatly appreciated. this story isn't really doing too well and i really don't want it to flop, so please comment and share if possible


	8. Chapter 8

Whenever Katherine closed her eyes, all she saw was that damn bull.

Over and over again, in the darkness behind her eyelids and in the darkness beyond the tree line was the bull staring back at her, his breath puffing from his flaring nostrils, his snout pulled back in a wicked smirk. He was there, presenting his manhood to her like he had in the clearing, taunting her with her precious bow and arrow.

“Come and get it, flower,” He would rumble.

To him, she was a heifer, ripe and innocent, still not yet taken as a mate. And he wanted her. He wanted her to be a part of his herd so he could breed his filthy calves into her, just like how he had wanted to do with Catalina. Maybe even Joan.

And that made Katherine feel furious.

But what could she do?

It’s been a week since the run-in with Henry’s troops and Katherine and her companions were walking on eggshells. Without their weapons, they couldn’t hunt, so they teetered into the lines of starvation for several days, only living off of a few berries they could forage. Without their supplies, they couldn’t collect or purify water, nor could they even start a fire, so they became thirsty and spent their nights in the cold darkness. Without their belongings, they were lost, and Katherine was starting to fear for the worst.

Once, when she was ten, she had gotten bitten by a venomous spider when she was climbing a tree. At the time, she had thought that was the worst pain anyone could ever go through. But now, nineteen years later, with her stomach feeling like it was eating itself, she would have much preferred the spider.

Katherine had never gone hungry before. Ghent was always full of food, whether it be meat from woodland animals or crops and fruits and nuts. Everyone always got breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so she had never even felt a fraction of what starvation felt like. But if someone had told her it was this awful, then she would have eaten that dead bird they passed a few days ago.

Katherine would have laughed at how pathetic she was being if laughing didn’t pull tightly at the muscles in her empty, cramping stomach. At night, as she gazed listlessly at the stars, she thought she could see another version of herself standing over her, shaking its head. 

“It’s only been a week,” The other-her would say. “Are you really that hopeless?”

“Yes,” She would reply, and then she would fade out into the oblivion where the bull prowled.

Honestly, it was kind of sad how she believed her journey was really over. She was so ready to be defeated that she thought the town she saw in the distance was just a mirage made by her own exhaustion.

But then the smell of livestock on the wind wafted under her nose and she did a double take so hard she thought her neck had snapped.

“A village,” She croaked, the words grating like thorns through her dry throat. “A village!”

Catalina and Joan turned in her direction, equally as tired-looking, and their eyes widened when they saw the houses and wooden fences.

“Come on!” Katherine beckoned them. She burst into a brisk jog that proved too much of a strain for her weary bones, but she pushed onward anyway, ignoring the way her vision began to swim into murky darkness. Behind her, she heard Joan drag in a deep, desperate breath. 

“I need to sit for a moment. I can’t breathe!” The little Tiefling bleated.

But Katherine didn’t stop, even when her own hunger pains and lethargy seized her lungs in a painful vice grip. “We don’t have the time, honey. I’m sorry.” 

The town was getting closer and closer with every wobbling step she took, but the ringing in her ears, presided over by the thump, thump, thump of her heart, kept getting louder and louder and louder. But she’s so close, so close… 

Then, her movements falter, and within seconds her body stopped responding, her thoughts growing scattered and illogical as she fell, endlessly backward into oblivion.

\------

Katherine awoke in the dark. Her senses told her that this was no ordinary dream, and perhaps it was not a dream at all. There was real danger here. Her breath curled in front of her, and her hands were bitterly numb from cold. She could feel something lingering above her, a monstrous shape. She fled instinctively, fearing the bull.

Trees whipped by as she ran, but she could feel the thing close behind. She knew that it meant to capture her, but she managed to evade it long enough to find a place to hide. Beneath a fallen tree she found a wet, cold burrow she could just fit inside. She rolled in and tried to still her breath.

When enough time passed that she might be safe, Katherine started to inch out of the burrow. Something then grabbed her arm and snatched her out of the hiding spot and into the air.

“It seems warriors are not so deft in the air. Who knew?” The voice came not from the monster directly, but from around it. The words warbled with a tangible weight.

“Then again, you are more prey than warrior, aren’t you?”

The enormous creature tightened its claws around her until her limbs ached.

“Now let us see, Katherine. You have been called upon by fate to do its dirty work. I’m sure that’ll continue to impress it and me, among others.”

The blue-eyed beast shifted, which sent vibrations through its muscles.

“I must say, I find it odd that you are not...more. You could have so much for yourself if you would but take it. Command it. Out think anyone who covets what you have. But you lack the skills. Unfortunate, but there is still time for you to show us what you really are.”

The sweat beaded up on her skin and ran down between her eyes. The salt stung, and her vision blurred as she searched for a way out. Katherine tried to press the animal panic down in her gut, but everywhere she turned It was there, staring into her face and scratching at her. She whined, then she shouted, and she did not stop shouting until thick, black smoke cut off her airway.

The flames rise around her until all is ash. Katherine woke up abruptly, sweating and scanning for danger, and it took a moment for the flames to register. She searched, again, locked in the same scenario for an exit while the flames rose around her. She coughed and tried to shout, but the smoke again was too much.

Katherine experienced this same terror a half-dozen more times before she truly waked, in her own skin and not of prey’s.

The world was white, and slowly fading to a muddy brown.

Her eyelids weighed a ton, eyeballs stinging and rolling in their sockets as she struggled to consciousness. After a moment of fighting, she thought she could see something. The edges of a dark room, a single light highlighting a single door. A pinch at her shoulder.

Wait.

She could feel again, feel as if through a fuzz of downy blankets. Waves of nausea came next as the pressure on her shoulder increased. She moaned.

Pressure released, and her arms tingled at the increased blood flow as garbled sound came from beside her. Roused by the noise, she finally peeled back her eyelids fully and looked at the bird standing at the bedside.

Even for a Kenku, it was quite small, but a little chubby, evident of good feeding. Its plumage was midnight black with a smock of white feathers over its sinewy, wiry shoulders and down its torso. Its talons were short and stubby, but it had a razor sharp flint dagger strapped to the side of its light blue belted tunic which looked like it could cut down to the bone. When it noticed Katherine awake, it perked up, beady black eyes widening behind a fringe of feathers.

But it didn’t say anything.

Katherine waited for it to ask her something, but it didn’t. It just made soft churring sounds as it bustled around the cramped room, searching for something. After a moment, it grabbed a plate full of chopped vegetables and cheese and a glass of water and brought it over to Katherine, holding it up to her.

Katherine didn’t hesitate to dive into the meal.

The Kenku watched her as she devoured the squash and peppers and tomatoes and goat cheese, the expression on its avian face unreadable because of its beak. But it seemed unbothered by her and went to refill the glass of water after she drank it all in one sitting.

“Thank you,” Katherine panted, finally taking a moment to breathe.

The Kenku dipped its head.

“How long have I been out?” Katherine asked.

The Kenku held up one claw.

“A day?”

It nodded.

“Damn,” Katherine whispered, running her fingers through her oily hair. She really needed a bath. “Where am I? What’s your name?”

The Kenku began making gestures with its arms, cooing and churring, but Katherine had no idea what it was trying to communicate to her. It stopped after a moment and chuffed, handing Katherine a handkerchief.

“I see…” Katherine said slowly, not understanding at all.

Before the Kenku could make another one of its birdy gestures, a scream suddenly ripped through the building.

Katherine jumped to her feet instantly, startling the Kenku. The scream sounded a lot like Joan!

The Kenku squawked after her as she ran out of the room and into the wooden hallway of what appeared to be an inn. She stumbled blindly into rooms, being tailed by a pied crow creature cawing its head off, until she threw open a door to see Joan cowering in a bed, pressed frightfully against the wall like she thought she could sink through it and escape, with a giant minotaur looming over her.

Katherine felt angry, then scared, then angry again until her blood pulsed hotly in her veins. How DARE he come back after what he did and torment them some more, especially a child! 

In a flash of fury, Katherine grabbed a nearby vase of flowers, smashed it on the wardrobe, and drove the points into Mannox’s side. 

The glass didn’t sink into his tough hide like she was hoping, but it did seem to prick him and he let out a startled yelp of pain, which was good enough for her. Mannox whirled around, golden brown eyes wide, and that was when Katherine faltered.

Mannox didn’t have golden brown eyes. His eyes had been dark brown.

This wasn’t Mannox at all!

The minotaur was huge like Mannox was, but this one was female. Instead of mud brown fur, her fur was a rich russet red color with undertones of cinnamon and umber. She was powerfully built, each of her limbs rippling with muscles, and her horns were broad like a longhorn’s. A teardrop-shaped ruby earring dangled from her left ear, and she wore only some baggy cotton pants, not afraid to flaunt her bare barrel chest, not that much was able to be seen beneath her shag of thick hide. She looked down at Katherine, rubbing the area where she had been stabbed.

“Ouch,” She hissed. “That was a little rude, don’t you think?” Her voice was jovial, but warm, and had an accent that Katherine didn’t recognize.

“I am so sorry!” Katherine stammered, dropping the makeshift weapon, causing the rest of it to shatter across the floor. She was wary as to not step on any of the shards with her bare feet. “I thought you were someone else.”

The minotaur flicked her ears up. “Oh?” She said. “It’s alright. Don’t worry about it.”

She turned around slowly, being mindful in the small space she was in, and Katherine noticed that the tips of her horns scraped the ceiling slightly. Her tail whipped back and forth as she peered down at the frightened little Tiefling in the bed.

“Hey, kid,” She said softly, and Katherine was surprised to hear such a gentle voice come out of such a big creature. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Katherine heard Joan whimper, and she quickly darted over to the bed, nearly trodding right over the minefield of broken glass. When Joan noticed her, she shot into her arms instantly, quaking with fear. Katherine held her securely against her. The minotaur stepped back respectfully.

“It’s good to see you both awake, at least,” The minotaur said. “I was starting to get worried. Oh, I’m Anna, by the way. But I prefer it if you call me Cleves. And this is Bessie.”

“Moo!” Cried the Kenku that had been tending to Katherine, throwing its arms up joyfully. So ‘it’ was actually a ‘she’, then.

Cleves chuckled. “I’m unsure if that’s her actual name,” She told Katherine and Joan. “But I think she chose it because she LOVES cows, and ‘Bessie’ tends to be a cow name.” The Kenky clambered up her body like a ladder and sat on her shoulder. “I think that’s why she likes me so much.”

Katherine cracked a small smile. “I’m Katherine. This is Joan.”

Cleves nodded, then frowned at the little Tiefling still buried in Katherine’s chest. “Is she alright?” She asked worriedly.

“I think so,” Katherine answered, stroking Joan’s hair. “She just--went through some stuff. That’s all. She’s still a little shaken.”

“Ah,” Cleves nodded. “I see.” She looked at Joan and dipped her head to try and seem smaller and less intimidating. “I hope you feel better, kid.”

Joan peeked out from Katherine’s chest, then gave a tiny nod before hiding her face again. Katherine massaged behind one of her big ears, hoping to comfort her.

“Do you know where the other woman who was with us is?” Katherine asked.

A grave look suddenly overtook Cleves’ face, and Katherine felt worry jolt through her veins.

Cleves took her to a larger room further into the room where Catalina was. Katherine instantly noticed the tear stains on her cheeks and the stricken expression on her face. She rushed over to her, and Catalina gave her a glazed look.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” Katherine took one of her hands, rubbing her thumb over the knuckles. “Talk to me.”

“It’s the baby,” Catalina said hoarsely, her voice rough from crying. 

A spear of ice jammed into Katherine’s gut. “What’s wrong?”

Catalina sniffled, then said, “I-I haven’t felt them kick since Mannox found us. H-he hit me, remember? Wh-what if something happened? What if they’re--” She buried her face into her hands and began to sob.

Katherine threw her arms around Catalina and held her tightly, rocking her back and forth in a vain effort to comfort her. She set a hand on the Aasimar’s belly, rubbing it softly in a few places, but felt no kicks and no flutters of life.

“Did you say Mannox?”

Katherine turned her head to Cleves, and was surprised to see the minotaur’s friendly face contorted into an expression of pure hatred. Even Bessie on her shoulder had her feathers ruffled in rage.

“Yeah,” Katherine nodded. “We ran into him a week ago. He surrounded us with his troops and tormented us for a while, but let us go after taking all of our stuff.”

“That sounds like him,” Cleves said gruffly. She stamped one of her hooves, and Katherine could feel the vibrations throbbing through the floorboards. “So he must have been the minotaur you mistook me for. No wonder that little Tiefling was so scared.”

“You know him?” Katherine asked.

“He was in my herd growing up,” Cleves explained. “He was always causing issues. When Bessie showed up,” She raised a large hand and the Kenku nuzzled her beak into it with happy chirps, “he was constantly trying to hurt her, but wrote it off as him just ‘playing’ with her. Bessie and I have been trying to track him down for a while under the orders of the queen.”

Katherine’s ears perked up. “The queen?”

“Shiny, shiny, shiny!” Bessie chirped helpfully.

“Queen Jane Seymour,” Cleves said.

Katherine’s heart lifted. “You work for her?”

“One of her best knights,” Cleves said proudly. Bessie nipped at her ear and she chuckled. “And Bessie is my squire, basically. I don’t go anywhere without her.”

The Kenku nuzzled lovingly against Cleves’ neck, cooing.

“We were actually needing to see the queen,” Katherine said. “Can we go with you whenever you leave?”

“Your story with Mannox could be useful,” Cleves said, rubbing her chin. “That can be arranged.”

Katherine brightened. “Thank you.”

There was a tug at her sleeve, and Katherine was soon brought back to the terrifying reality that she had momentarily been distracted by. She turned to Catalina, shaking and crying, and wrapped her back up into her arms.

“Is there a doctor in this village?” She asked Cleves and Bessie.

But before either of them could answer, Catalina choked out, “Sh-she already saw me. Sh-she said there was n-nothing she c-could do.” She made an anguished noise that ripped mercilessly into Katherine’s heart. “I don’t wanna lose my baby, Kat! I can’t!”

“Shh, shh,” Katherine murmured, rubbing Catalina’s back. She could feel the wetness of tears running against her neck, warm and miserable. “It’s going to be okay, Lina. I promise.”

Catalina babbled something wet and grief stricken in response, but Katherine couldn’t understand her from where she was buried in her chest.

In the doorway, Cleves frowned deeply. “I am terribly sorry for you.” She said to Catalina. Then, attempting to lighten the mood, she said, “There’s a small festival tonight. You can come if you’d like. We’ll be leaving tomorrow morning, so make sure to get some rest. We’ll get you some more food and water.”

Vegetables and cheese, soup, bread, and glasses of water were brought to the room Catalina was in. Joan ended up joining them inside, sitting at the foot of the bed with her tail wrapped around Catalina’s ankle in a form of comfort. Catalina stopped crying eventually, and Katherine got her to drink some water and eat a few pieces of food, but her expression never lifted.

The three of them attempted to go and enjoy the festival, but it quickly proved to be too much for them. Katherine was consumed with far too much worry to think about anything other than the wellbeing of her companions and the journey to the Unbreakable City, Catalina was completely distracted in her depression, and Joan was badly shaken. The music and many people overwhelmed all of them, and they soon had to return to the inn to calm down and rest.

In the middle of the night, Katherine woke up to crying. Instantly, she knew who it was, and she got up to go to Catalina’s bed, climbing in next to the trembling Aasimar.

“Come on, honey,” Katherine murmured to her, grabbing the glass of water on the nightstand and easing it to Catalina’s lips. “Drink. Slow sips.” The poor thing was going to dehydrate herself with how much she was crying.

Catalina obeyed her, drinking a few sips of water, but then quickly dissolved back into tears. Katherine barely had enough time to set the cup down before Catalina collapsed against her, weeping uncontrollably.

“My baby,” The Aasimar moaned. “I-I can’t lose my baby! I can’t, I can’t!”

She was completely hysterical, and Katherine didn’t blame her. To lose her child after everything she’s been through… It must have been heartwrenching. 

“Oh, Lina,” Katherine hugged her against her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Oh, my dear Lina… It’s going to be okay. Your baby is strong, just like you are.”

“Why can’t I feel them?” Catalina beseeched. “Why-- why aren’t they--” She began to make concerning gasping noises, and Katherine quickly lifted her chin to make eye contact with her.

“Honey, look at me.” Katherine said. “You’re okay. It’s all going to be okay. Just try to breathe. Can you do that? Follow me if you need to.” She took deep breaths to demonstrate, and Catalina copied her. She stroked her hair back, cooing. “Good girl. Just like that.”

Catalina whimpered, her rich brown eyes shiny with tears in the moonlight slipping through the curtains. Katherine kissed her forehead, and she folded deeper into her warmth.

“I’m right here, my darling Lina,” Katherine murmured, easing Catalina back into a lying position. “I’m right here.”

“W-will you stay with me?” Catalina sniffled.

“Of course,” Katherine said. She felt Catalina press close against her with her nose buried in her neck, still whimpering softly, but now slightly calmer. Katherine slid a hand onto her belly and rubbed it gently, hoping to provide some comfort as they both slowly drifted back off into sleep.

And then--

A kick.

Katherine and Catalina both sat up straight. They looked at each other with wide eyes, then both set their hands on Catalina’s stomach, waiting.

There was a kick. And then another. And then another.

Catalina burst into tears all over again, but this time they were tears of joy.

“They’re alive,” She whispered.

Katherine grinned brightly. “I told you, Lina. They’re a little fighter.”

“They’re alive!” Catalina exclaimed again. She threw her arms around Katherine and hugged her tightly. Katherine laughed, and was able to feel the fluttering of the baby from Catalina’s stomach pressed against her. Catalina suddenly groaned and leaned back. “Great, now they’re moving a bunch.” She poked her belly. “Hey, jerk! You think that was funny? You nearly scared me half to death! Ow! Don’t hit me! I am your mother!”

Katherine was unable to smother her laughter. “Little Mary is a trickster, huh?”

Catalina grinned. “Or Hal.”

“What’s going on?” Joan sat up from the bed she was in, rubbing her eyes sleepily. “Why’s it so noisy?”

Katherine and Catalina both laughed.

“You’re going to be a big sister, Joan!” Catalina told her, beaming. She rested her head against Katherine’s shoulder, unable to stop smiling. “They’re still here…”

“I told you, honey,” Katherine said. “They’re strong. Just like their mama.”


	9. Chapter 9

Queen Jane Seymour’s kingdom wasn’t always called “the Unbreakable City.” Before the land was ravaged by battles, it was called Babylon, the capital of Cyprus and the safest place to live on the entire continent. It got its name from the gorgeous hanging gardens decorating the palace and mountains the city was situated on.

But after five years of nonstop battles and attacks on the capital, its name was changed to the Unbreakable City to symbolize how much it had withstood against Henry’s army. 

The Unbreakable City was set up on the side of a mountain, boxed in by a deep chasm called The Great Crystal Cliffs, which glittered in streams of petrified rainbows in the sunlight. But there wasn’t much sun left in the capital, as Henry had cast an eternal storm over the city, buffeting it in rain and snow and sleet and wind as long as the queen continued to not surrender. 

A large ebony wall towered around the perimeter of The Great Crystal Cliffs, protecting the people that lived within. Five impenetrable bridges conjured by the strongest magic lay over the chasm, allowing people to come and go from the city as they pleased. A pitch-black gate wrapped in vines and clusters of violets creaked open when Katherine and her companions arrived, and they followed Cleves and Bessie into the queen’s kingdom with their heads held high.

The senses of the city overwhelm Katherine from every direction. First, there was the noise, the cacophony of hundreds of people: merchants hawking their wares; dozens of different conversations; the cries of animals and children; the rattle of carts; and a million other noises. It was all the bubbling babble of a village meeting magnified a thousandfold.

Then there were the smells: the sweat and stink of thousands of bodies; the stench of rotting food, smoke, and cooking grease; the mixed odor of grilling meat and sizzling vegetables; the pungent musk of farm animals on the outskirts of the city; the constant aroma of rain. Smells were everywhere, all slamming into her in powerful waves of stink.

Finally, her ears got used to the cacophony and her nose began to filter the overpowering stench, and she could see the glory that was the Unbreakable City: houses piled three or four stories high, stretching into the distance like a jumbled mass; the high, raised pillars of spires and turrets and crenelated bulwarks in ebony stone; the caves carved into the towering stretches of cliffs all around; and the plants. There were so many plants all over the place, roses and violets and bluebells and sunflowers bursting in barrages of color from building to building. 

And then, there was the palace.

Queen Jane Seymour’s palace had to be the most beautiful building Katherine had ever seen before. It was carved out of polished black marble, half-built deep into the mountain where dozens of rooms were chipped away from mossy stone for all the workers and nobles to live. A wide curtain of willow and lichen hung down from the cliff overhead, gently draping over the black beauty. Moss and blankets of tightly-woven flowers were cascading from several grand balconies, glowing with vibrant life, and vines crawling with roses were coiled delicately around intricately-carved spiral pillars. Waterfalls were pouring out from crevices in the mountain wall, falling into the chasm below like streams of crushed diamonds.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Katherine turned her head to see Cleves smiling at her. The Minotaur gazed up at the palace, and her golden-brown eyes glittered in the light drizzle. On her shoulder, Bessie’s black tail feathers were wagging like a happy dog’s.

“It is,” Katherine said. “It’s amazing.”

Cleves smiled even wider before walking up the steps to the palace pavilion, Katherine and her companions following. A marble courtyard of lush greenery was built around a statue of an elegant quartz dragon sitting regally on a glittering throne. The entrance to the palace was a high arch with a curtain of vines that tickled Katherine’s shoulders when she passed through them.

“Woah,” Joan murmured at her side.

The inside of the castle was just as incredible as the outside.

A huge foyer yawned out before them, with a visible catwalk stretched around the upper sections of the high-vaulted walls where maids and other workers bustled about. Several hallways were carved deep into the mountain, most likely leading to even more magnificent rooms. 

Cleves ended up taking them down the corridor at the very front of the foyer, which led into a giant throne room that was dressed in flowers and plants, fed by spring water streaming from the smooth stone walls and collecting into troughs edging the floors. The ceiling was completely covered in dark phosphorescent moss that was freckled in glowing bright blue speckles, mimicking the night sky. One of the two thrones was a beautiful marble creation, studded with opals and pearls and fluffed with silver velvet cushions. The other, however, was completely wrapped in prickly vines and painfully sharp thorns; it was clear that sitting in it was not allowed, though a freshly-polished silver circlet hung from one of the back points.

Cleves looked around the throne room, while Bessie jumped down from her shoulders. Her talons clicked against the shiny floor as she paced around.

“Shiny?” She called out in a youthful voice. “Queenie?”

“Hm,” Cleves said. “I’m disappointed but not surprised.”

“What?” Katherine looked at her.

Cleves chuckled. “Nothing. It’s just very like Jane to not be on her throne. Come on, follow me.”

They took a hallway to the left and walked further into the castle. Instead of feeling claustrophobic from being inside a mountain, Katherine felt quite secure and protected within the stone walls of the palace.

They stepped into another huge room, and Katherine couldn’t help but gasp at its beauty.

It was a library, but also a forest. Giant thick trees towered out of the mossy stone floor, their twisted branches hanging with lanterns and writing materials. Holes were carved in the trunks, where scrolls were neatly slotted info and marked with letters in the bark. Several more cubbyholes were dug out into the walls, filled with ancient texts and grand stories, while high, shined mahogany bookshelves actually held all the books. Wooden tables dotted the space, along with several places to sit, like hollows in the trees and nests made of fluffy lichen. A spring burbled softly in the center of the library, giving off a natural bioluminescent glow, which bathed the two figures by the water in soft blue light.

The figure standing up was a Leonin woman, dressed in shiny glass armor and wielding two curved swords. Her fur was a dark sandy yellow color, speckled with light brown on her back and shoulders, and her eyes were bright amber, sharp and alert.

The figure sitting on the ground reading a book, however, was a beautiful dark-skinned human woman. Her skin was unblemished and shiny from the golden oils she bathed with, contrasting brightly with the silk silver dress she was wearing. Teardrop-shaped crystals were draped along her shoulders, cascading down her gown in a bright glittering stream. A metal circlet sat on her head, studded with diamonds and opals. When she looked up, her eyes were a warm golden-amber color.

Cleves and Bessie bowed, then Katherine and her companions copied. The queen smiled.

“Anna, Bessie,” Queen Jane Seymour said, and her voice was smooth and husky. “It’s good to see you both again. I’m glad you’re home safe.”

“Queenie!!” Bessie chirped. She launched herself forward and threw her arms around the queen, nuzzling her with happy bird coos. The queen chuckled and stroked the feathers on her head.

“Hello, Bessie,” Jane said. She glanced at Katherine and her companions. “Hello there. Who are you three?”

“Katherine Howard of Ghent,” Katherine dipped her head, despite already bowing. “These are Catalina and Joan. We request your assistance in something.”

Jane raised an eyebrow. She closed her book and stood up, suddenly looking very alert. “Oh? Is that so?”

“They had a run-in with Mannox, My Lady,” Cleves informed.

Joan flinched slightly when the name was said, flicking her ears back. Katherine gently touched her shoulder for support.

“Do tell,” Jane said. 

“My village was destroyed by Henry’s forces,” Katherine said. “Ghent. It was in the Needle Forest.”

Jane frowned. “I heard about that. I’m terribly sorry.”

Katherine nodded slightly. “I’m here to urge you to get more involved in the war. Henry is tearing apart the continent. You need to start fighting back more than you are. Please.”

Jane stared at her and, without hesitation, said, “No.”

Katherine’s jaw actually fell open. She watched as Jane briskly turned around and began walking out of the library. The Leonin followed her, and Cleves and Bessie copied after glancing at Katherine to gauge her reaction. Katherine hurried after them, Catalina and Joan on her tail.

“Wait!” Katherine shouted. “Your Majesty!”

Jane turned to her. “I can’t risk losing any more of my soldiers. By pushing out more, I anger Henry, and that is not what I want.”

“But people are _dying_!” Katherine cried. “Innocent people! What about them?”

Jane sighed. “I feel bad, I do, but my people come first.”

“You’re a fucking coward,” Catalina hissed.

The Leonin growled lowly, bristling her fur. “Watch what you say, Aasimar.”

“What do you mean? Watch what I say about the _truth_?” Catalina scoffed. She narrowed her eyes at Jane. “What kind of queen are you, hiding inside your castle? Do you enjoy being blissfully ignorant towards the things going on outside your walls? Katherine is right, innocent people are DYING because of YOUR husband! Control him!”

Jane went quiet for a moment, rubbing her fingers over a sapphire pendant around her neck. “My husband,” She murmured. She shook her head. “Henry had been changing long before the war started. I couldn’t stop him then. I’m not sure what you expect me to do now.”

Catalina barked a cruel laugh. “You are unbelievable! So many people are dying, women and children, because of YOUR petty marriage issues, and for what? What is even the point of this stupid war?”

Jane stared at them, silent, then said, “Follow me.”

The queen led them all through a mossy hallway with sewing rooms and music rooms and learning rooms in them, then up a flight of smooth stone steps. She was quiet as she approached and opened a wooden door.

Inside was a room with walls that were decorated with bright, colorful flowers and sparkling crystals. A large light purple rug was stretched out across the stone floor, and several large pillows, blankets, books, and toys filled the rest of the space. A small castle was carved out of stone in one corner, fit with a slick flint slide and a woven rope swing. Long dark green curtains billowed in the wind streaming inside, and the doorway they blocked led out onto a balcony thriving with plant life. Stars whittled out of luminescent blue stones dangled from the ceiling, swaying slightly in the breeze.

It took Katherine only a moment to realize this was a playroom.

“Mama!”

A little boy burst out of the stone castle and ran to Jane, hugging her leg tightly. He was small, with ivory skin, dark brown hair, and bright blue eyes. A purple blanket was tied around his neck like a cape, and he clutched a pegasus toy tightly in one of his little hands.

“Mama! Mama, guess what!!!” The boy exclaimed. “Today when I was learning with Mister Hugo, I read ALL BY MYSELF!!!!”

Jane smiled, rubbing the child’s head. “My smart boy,” She said lovingly. “I’m so proud of you!”

The boy beamed, then noticed Katherine and her companions standing there. He perked up.

“Woah!!!” He cried. “Mama, look!! New friends! And a TIEFLING!!! Look at her, Mama! She’s SO PRETTY! LIKE A DIAMOND!!!”

Joan blushed, folding her ears back bashfully. She clearly wasn’t used to be complimented for her strange coloration.

“I see them, sweetheart,” Jane said, then looked at Katherine and her companions. “This is Edward. My son.”

 _Her son_ , Katherine repeated in her head. She remembered hearing rumors about the queen of the Unbreakable City giving birth to a prince, but never knew if they were true, as not much information came out about him. She had just assumed the prince had died somehow until that moment.

“Eddie, why don’t you go show the pretty Tiefling your swing?” Jane said. 

“Okay!!!” Edward chirped. He bounded over to Joan, but held out his free hand to her instead of just grabbing her own. Joan hesitated shyly, then took his head and was taken over to the rope swing on the castle.

“Five years ago I gave birth to Edward,” Jane said to Catalina and Katherine quietly. “I barely survived. Henry wanted to take him to learn to be a ‘proper prince’, but I refused. I hadn’t almost died just to not be with my son. Henry didn’t like that. He had already been hanging by a few threads, but this did it. He left Cyprus and then declared war two months later.” She shook her head, looking up at Katherine. “Now do you see why I can’t risk fighting him further? I can’t lose my son.”

Katherine looked at Edward chatting excitedly with Joan as they swayed on his swing, taking in how happy he looked, despite the tragedy raging outside the city’s walls, then said, “Is there anything we can do to change your mind?”

Jane considered her. “There are these beasts in each of the other territories. Henry created them to scare the people out of the war. If you can kill them and get the other kingdoms on my side, then I’ll join the fight.”

Katherine chuckled. “Alright.”

After all, she had wanted to be a hero.


	10. Chapter 10

Hot. Scorching. Sweltering. Searing. Balmy. Parching. Oven-like. Those, and so many other words could describe the desert Katherine and her companions were trekking through, Katherine just couldn’t think of anymore because her brain was being melted.

The Brazen Empire--or just “Braze”--was the desert territory on the far east side of Atlas. It was boxed in on all sides by tall, platformed plateau mesas called the Highland Cliffs, which kept the land in solitude from the rest of the continent. 

Golden rolling dunes stretched out as far as the eye could see—which, to be fair, wasn’t very far because Katherine was sure she was seeing mirages everywhere. Cacti and shriveled shrubs stuck out of the ground, somehow surviving in the wasteland despite the cruel elements. The sky was an eye-bleedingly bright blue with not a single cloud in sight, letting the blisteringly hot sun rain down on the land.

And Katherine HATED IT.

“God, this is awful,” She panted, sweat burning in her eyes. Her dirty blonde hair felt like tassels of fire on her head, and her ears were like little torches attached to her skull. 

Catalina laughed. “What are you talking about? This is amazing!”

Catalina had grown up in Braze, so she was used to the desert life. Katherine and Joan, however, were not as fortunate to have been raised in a scorching wasteland of dehydration and skin disease.

Katherine sluggishly wiped away a torrent of sweat from her brow. Jane had given them supplies for the journey to the different territories, but the glass bow strapped to her back felt like it was burning her alive. Joan was lucky enough to just get a simple ebony dagger, but she looked just as miserable. Her grey felt clothes and extra fur paddings for protection looked like they were roasting her like a chicken. Hints of blotchy sunburns were already starting to appear on her long, whip-thin white tail and ears. 

Catalina gazed over a sand dune, looking for any signs of her home city. Behind her, Joan doubled over, heaving her breaths. Katherine could see several streams of sweat cascading through her white-blonde hair.

“We shouldn’t be far.” Catalina said, turning back to them. It was clear she was trying not to laugh at their discomfort. “Just a little longer!”

“Easy for you to say,” Joan wheezed. She lifted her tail to keep it from touching the sand. 

“Trust me! We’re almost there!”

They began their trek once again.

“So, what’s this area of sand called?” Katherine asked, falling into step beside Catalina. “Wasteland Number Six?”

Catalina laughed. “This is Droughtmaster Dunes,” She said.

Katherine blinked. “That’s actually very fitting.”

Her friend laughed again. “Isn’t it?” She looked up at the bright blue sky, smiling. “I’m actually happy to be back. Nothing beats the sun here.” She stretched her arms out to catch the rays and signed happily.

“And that’s a good thing!” Joan barked from behind them. Heavily hindered by the sun, she was falling behind slightly. “The sun here SUCKS!”

Catalina tittered. “The mythical bovine, the Brazen Bull, was said to have made Braze, which is why it has that name. The Bull made everything here. It dug out the land it claimed for the territory, it lifted Highland Cliffs with its horns to protect us from other territories, it scraped its hooves through the ground to create the canyons, it stamped its feet to created pools for oases, and, after it was all done, it shook out the dust in its fur and filled Braze with sand.”

Katherine smiled as she listened to Catalina talk. Her friend rarely ever spoke about her homeland, so it was nice to see her reminiscing over her childhood territory.

However, she went quiet for a moment and fiddled with the sunstone necklace around her neck, lightly touching her belly with her other hand. There was an unreadable expression on her face.

“Just a fair warning,” Catalina said, “that my family is kinda weird.”

Katherine chuckled lightly. “Alright. I’m sure they’ll be fine, though. After all, you turned out amazing.”

Catalina smiled again, nudging her. “Aww. You softy!”

Katherine smiled back. “I speak the truth!”

“I need water,” Joan wheezed from behind them.

“We’re almost there, sweetie,” Catalina said, giving the poor Tiefling a sympathetic, but amused look.

She was right. After clambering over a particularly high sand dune, the capital city of Braze was revealed.

Aragon was a city that was smartly built around several oases. Shiny golden walls that glittered in the sunlight boxed in the civilization, and the tips of sun-dried brick houses and a particularly tall tower could be seen peeking out from over the high edges. Hints of a huge skeleton was sitting behind the furthest wall in a sunken sand pit. The clamor of people could be heard as the three of them approached the front gates where two Aasimar guards stood, wearing long, protective garbs covering every inch of skin and holding spears. They bristled as the trio approached, but their jaws weirdly dropped open after a moment.

“Princess Catalina!” The grey-skinned guard exclaimed. “Y-you’re back!”

Katherine’s and Joan’s heads whipped around to Catalina, their eyes going wide.

“Princess?!” They both yelped.

“Surprise!” Catalina said weakly. She gathered herself up regally and turned to the dumbfounded guards. “I request to see the King and Queen.”

Both guards nodded hastily. “Of course, princess!” The grey-skinned one said.

“Right this way!” Said the other.

The three of them were whisked inside the gates.

Aragon was filled with sun-dried brick houses and sturdy wooden huts. Merchant tents and carpet canopies were set up on the entrance pavilion, where shop owners hawked their wares to anyone who passed by. Fruits and fried meat, protective desert garbs and sunscreening oils, venomous scorpions to use for something and vials of antivenom--there were so many different items being sold. The smell of sizzling meat and roasting scarab beetles and brewing coffee swirled through the hot air, attacking Katherine’s nose with aromas that made her mouth water.

Small pools dotted the city, rippling softly in the heated breeze. Some of them were burbling like a fountain, while others were edged by lush greenery that seemed to be surviving much better than the plants outside the walls. Children were playing in a few of the pools, keeping cool in the midday heat, but some adults were collecting water in buckets.

A bronze statue of a giant bull sat in the center of the city, in front of the steps leading up to the palace. It was reared up on its hind legs with its fur bristled in powerful rage and horns thrown up in the air. Smoldering coals were set in its skull, and the furry tufts of its tail were crackling with orange fire.

The palace behind the statue was huge and majestic. It seemed to be made out of actual gold, glowing in the sunlight. Gemstones were inlaid across the outer walls, sparkling like colorful eyes. There were no front doors so the breeze could filter inside, so the guards led the three of them right inside.

Two thrones were sitting at the back of the wide, high-vaulted entrance room. They were made of solid gold, embedded with rubies and emeralds and cushioned by soft camel fur pillows. A curtain of water was pouring out behind the royal seats from the ceiling, collecting into a bubbling trough pool. The desert could be seen rippling behind the sheet of water. 

And in the thrones sat the king and queen.

Queen Isabella was glowing like a polished garnet. The dress she wore was made of silk, in a rich dark orange shade that allowed her thick black hair to be shown to best advantage, and edged with ribbon and lace that perfectly set off her fire-like amber eyes and dark tanned skin. Golden veils wreathed her blood red wings, and yellow diamonds, topazes, sunstones, and tourmalines hung from her arms in glittering curtains of wealth. An elaborate headpiece made of gold and rubies sat on her head, with strands of gemstones dangling down into her face. Three golden medallions hung around her neck- one had a symbol of a broken rib cage etched on it, the second had what looked like small intestines forming the shape of a coiled snake, and the third had a faceless head.

King Ferdinand was less flashy than his wife, wearing simple cotton clothes with a camel fur cape around his neck and onyx wristbands on his wrists. His skin was slightly blotchy from sun damage and his hair was long and ash brown. Pale orange-salmon wings were folded neatly against his back, not nearly as big as the queen’s.

The two of them leapt to their feet from the throne when Catalina walked in.

“Catalina!!” They both cried, bustling over to their daughter. They threw their wings around Catalina, swaying her in glee, but Katherine noticed how Catalina just barely hugged them back.

“Oh, my dearest desert flower,” Ferdinand said. “You’re finally home after all these years!”

“It’s so good to see you again,” Isabella said. “You’ve been gone for so long!”

Catalina nodded reservedly. “Yes. It has been.”

The king and queen stepped back, taking in the sight of their daughter. Isabella’s joyous expression faded into a calculating one when she noticed Catalina’s pregnant belly, while Ferdinand just blinked at it.

“You’re pregnant,” Isabella said. 

“Yes, I am,” Catalina said, ruffling up the feathers in her hair. “I hope that isn’t any issue, Mother.”

Isabella considered the bump, like she thought the baby was going to jump out now and steal her throne. “Who’s the father?”

“His name is Arthur.” Catalina said.

“Where is he?”

“Not here.”

“You aren’t with your baby’s own father anymore?”

“Oh my god.”

Catalina glanced back at Katherine and Joan for a moment, giving them a, “Here we go again” kind of look. She turned back to her parents with as much reserve as she could manage.

“What is he?” Ferdinand asked, glancing at Catalina’s belly every few seconds.

“A human.” Catalina answered. “I hope that isn’t an issue, _Father_.”

Ferdinand just cleared his throat and looked away. Katherine could tell that he didn’t have as much power as his wife, therefore making him weaker in disputes, even ones that don’t have to do with court matters.

“You shouldn’t just sleep with random strangers, Catalina.” Isabella scolded.

“I’m not!” Catalina barked, her face heating up. “Arthur is-- _was_ different! And why does it even matter to you? It’s not your body, it’s mine! And if I want to use it to sleep with people, then I should be allowed to!”

“Well, _your_ body is holding _my_ grandson. Or granddaughter.” There was something icy about the way Isabella said that word, and Katherine noticed how Catalina shuddered and set a hand over her belly protectively. “Plus, you’re still _my daughter_ and I’m concerned over what you’re doing. You already ran off and disappeared for five years!”

Catalina rolled her eyes. “Don’t act like you weren’t happy.”

“I wasn’t.” Isabella growled, her blood red feathers standing on end like an angry cat’s fur.

“Sure you weren’t.” Catalina challenged her.

Ferdinand quickly put himself between his wife and his father. “That’s enough, that’s enough,” He said. “The point is that Catalina is home safe. That is what matters.”

“Hm. Of course.” Isabella said, settling her expression back into stolid noble maturity.

Catalina growled softly underneath her breath, and Katherine set a comforting hand on her shoulder. Isabella glanced at her, an eyebrow twitching up.

“Introduce us to your friend, Catalina.” The queen said.

Grinding her teeth a being ordered around, Catalina said, “This is Katherine. And this over here is J--”

“TIEFLING!”

Katherine jumped at the cry. Isabella suddenly whipped out a hidden dagger from inside her right wing, her face contorting with rage and feathers ruffling up into two big red masses. Several guards around the room jumped to attention with their weapons raised, and even mellow Ferdinand growled softly and raised his wings to look more threatening. Meanwhile, Joan just blinked in frightened confusion, curling her tail in close.

“Catalina, you brought a TIEFLING into our home?!” Isabella shouted, and Katherine saw Joan wince and lower her ears.

“I didn’t recognize it at first,” Ferdinand said at her side, slightly more to himself than to the others in the room. “Why does it look like that? Aren’t they usually red or blue?”

“ _Her_ name is Joan.” Catalina said, stepping up beside Joan, exuding a protective aura. “And she’s with me. There’s no need to worry.”

“There is every reason to worry,” Isabella hissed. “You brought a Tiefling into our city! A _TIEFLING_!! Don’t you know what they are?” She didn’t wait for Catalina to answer her, “They’re DEMONS! Goat-faced, hell-touched, unbirthed DEMONS!”

“Mother, will you stop shouting?” Catalina said, agitation biting her words. A few people from outside were peeking in and ogling the scene with wide, curious eyes. “Joan isn’t bad. She’s my friend. And you’re not going to throw her out.”

Isabella narrowed her eyes at Joan, sizing her up several times. She sniffed. “We’re going to have to put her through decontamination.”

“Mother--”

“You will not fight me on this, Catalina.” Isabella said firmly, turning her knife-like gaze on her daughter. “She will be back with you soon enough. But she is a Tiefling and this needs to happen for our safety.”

Catalina clenched her fists tightly, but said, “ _Fine_.”

Isabella smiled like a venomous snake. “Very good.”

Catalina turned to Joan and cupped one of her cheeks. “You’re going to be okay, sweetheart. My family is just super paranoid over some races and feels the need to do a really stupid examination on them before they can have free reign in the city.” She brushed an unruly lock of white-blonde hair out of Joan’s face. “You’ll be out in no time, alright?”

Joan nodded quietly, and Catalina gave her a quick hug before a group of guards came to take Joan away. The young Tiefling glanced back at Katherine and Catalina, her tail slightly tucked between her legs and ears folded back, before disappearing down a hallway and out of sight. Isabella shook her head with a look of visible distaste.

“I don’t know why you would ever befriend one of those beasts,” The queen said, earning a growl from Catalina. Katherine put her hand back on Catalina’s shoulder, hoping to provide some comfort to her. “Anyway, I’ll alert the chefs. Your arrival back home needs a celebration!”

And celebrate they did.

That night, when the desert dropped to a startling cold temperature for a blisteringly hot wasteland, the Brazens of Aragon rejoiced in the return of their missing princess. Firelight emblazed then night sky, the Bull’s horns were lit with golden flames, and a band played Catalina’s favorite instruments. Cactus juice, strange alcoholic concoctions, and camel milk were passed out in tinted yellow glasses, and roasted desert fruits, grilled meat, and spicy hot foods were served on bronze trays you could see your reflection on. Aasimars danced and twirled in the main pavilion, celebrating gleefully, all while Catalina stood at the top of the steps leading to the palace, receiving guests and graciously accepting their best wishes. Everyone had a smile for her. Some of the adults looked at her appraisingly--only to be expected, Katherine supposed, as she was royalty--and many of the youngsters tried to flirt. Catalina humored them lightly solely for the entertainment of their reactions.

Katherine got lost in the festivities rather quickly. One moment she was getting her tongue melted by a painfully spicy dish, and then next she had a glass of translucent greenish juice thrust into her hands. She tasted it as she tottered up to Catalina and made a face at how bitter it was. Catalina laughed lightly.

“That’s Snake Wine,” The princess told her, “It’s made out of cactus juice that we put a dead snake in and leave out to ferment in the sun for a week.”

Katherine silently spit the mouthful of Snake Wine back into her cup. Catalina burst out into laughter so loud it rivaled the blaring music and made several people’s heads turn in curiosity.

“That is, umm,” Katherine said, covering her mouth. “Ah--”

“Horrible?” Catalina smiled and passed her a napkin. Katherine took it gratefully.

“Your words, not mine,” Katherine said, wiping her mouth. “But yes.”

Catalina giggled. “It’s better than that weird berry crap you used to have me drink.”

Katherine gasped with a wounded expression. “Berry Milk is amazing, thank you very much!”

“Berry juice and milk do not go together! You have to choose one, Kat! ONE! You can’t have both!”

They both laughed, earning even more confused stares.

“Are you happy to be back?” Katherine asked after a moment of serene silence between her and her friend.

Catalina shrugged, losing her smile. “I guess. I mean, I like seeing the city again and all my old friends, but…” She cast a frustrated expression at her parents, who were chatting animatedly with two old nobles. “Like I said before, my family is weird.”

Katherine frowned. “I’m sorry.” Hoping to get Catalina’s mind off of her family issues, she looked over at a tall orange tower in the far right corner of the city. It was made of dried clay, with several twists, points, and spires, and Katherine noticed the deep red of a Kobold snout peeking out of one of the large barred windows. “What’s that?”

Catalina looked at the tower. “Oh that’s Hotshot Hall. It’s our prison.” She said. “Mother doesn’t like having the prisoners near the palace, so they’re kept as far away as possible.” She wrinkled her nose.

“Ah,” Katherine nodded, watching the Kobold pull back inside the tower. 

“Well, maybe you’ll get to see a Calf Scramble while we’re here,” Catalina mused. “So that’s something to look forward to.”

“Calf Scramble?” Katherine looked at her confusedly.

“Oh, it’s great,” Catalina said. “Five people are taken out to the sinkhole in the back of the city and have to try and catch these camel calves we release with them. It is HILARIOUS to watch them run around and slip in the sand!”

Katherine smiled. “I look forward to it!”

“Princess Catalina! Princess Catalina!” An eager young voice called. 

“A princess’ work is never done,” Catalina said to Katherine, smiling. She bumped her shoulder affectionately. “Have some fun, Kat. I’ll talk to you again later.”

Once Catalina whisked off to go speak with more people, Katherine delved back into the party for a little while longer before straying away to explore. 

Aragon was truly a lavish city, even for a civilization in the middle of a desert wasteland. She passed by several cozy-looking houses and lively bars decorated with desert flowers, all abandoned for the celebration. 

She soon found herself in a small clearing between buildings where an oasis pool sat. Two bendy palm trees swayed lightly in the breeze, and clustered of paddle-shaped succulents hounded the edges of the pool. Katherine sat down on a smooth stone and looked up at the sky, where every single star in the entire universe seemed to be visible.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” 

Katherine jerked around, nearly falling off of the rock and into the pool.

Queen Isabella was standing in an alleyway feeding into the clearing, darkness shrouded over her. She stepped out into the moonlight, and all her gemstones glittered like eyes around her. 

“Yes,” Katherine nodded, composing herself.

“Why aren’t you celebrating?” Isabella asked, standing above Katherine. 

“I’m just taking a breather, Your Majesty,” Katherine answered. “Is that alright?”

Isabella eyed Katherine suspiciously. “Of course,” She said slowly. She looked up at the sky. “When did you meet my daughter? You seem to be good friends.”

“Five years ago,” Katherine said. “She lived in a city next to my forest village and wandered in one day. After an interrogation, I was showing her out and we just started talking. She kept coming back after that and became a regular visitor in the village.”

“Hm.” Isabella said. “Well, I thank you for bringing my daughter back home safe.” She looked down at Katherine and smiled, sending chills down Katherine’s spine. “I am so, very pleased.”

————

The celebration was still going on when Katherine eventually turned in for the night. She went to her lavish guest bedroom in the palace to sleep, but not before visiting Catalina.

Catalina was in her own huge bedroom, sitting under the marigold velvet blankets in her equally giant bed. She was looking down at a painting in her hands, and didn’t look up from it when Katherine walked inside.

“I ran away because I wasn’t happy in Aragon.”

Katherine walked over and sat down next to Catalina. The painting she was holding had four girls in it, all smiling and engulfing each other in their wings. 

“I was restricted from doing so many things and Mother watched my every move.” Catalina went on, her voice brimming with hate. “I couldn’t stand it.” She brushed her hands over the surface of the painting, an expression of longing in her eyes. “You probably think I’m just being selfish and snobby, but you don’t know how things happen here.”

“Then tell me,” Katherine urged softly. She set a hand on Catalina’s thigh, letting her know she was there for me. 

Catalina sighed. “The queen rules in Braze. And that’s great, you know, girl power, yay!” She laughed dryly. “But the way we take the throne…” She trailed off, shifting uncomfortably. “Only daughters, nieces, granddaughters, and aunts are allowed to challenge for the throne. And they do this by fighting the queen. To the death.”

Katherine frowned, quickly understanding why Catalina didn’t like the system.

“Mother’s three sisters died young, so she didn’t have any competition growing up.” Catalina went on. “She challenged my grandmother when she was twenty-two and killed her swiftly. Crushed her ribs during the fight. Then, she married Father and started having children. She said she would only humor four female heirs. No more than that.”

She pointed to the tallest girl. Her wings were dark indigo and powerful-looking, and she had glowing golden skin. Dark brown hair was cut short around her head, bordering her fiery green eyes. She was wearing the sunstone necklace that Catalina now had around her neck.

“That’s Juana, my second oldest sister. She had the wildest temper and always thought of fun stuff for us and my other sisters to do. She also LOVED to challenge the teachers she had.” A smile pulled on Catalina’s lips, then quickly disappeared. “She challenged Mother when I was ten. I swear, she nearly beat mother to death; Juana did not mess around when it came to combat. And she would have won, too. She _should have_ won. But then Mother, bleeding, bruised, and pinned on the ground beneath her, looked up and said, ‘I’m proud of you.’ Mother doesn’t say that often. Rarely ever. Juana hesitated, smiled, and then Mother slashed her stomach open with a dagger hidden in the bends of her wings. I still remember Juana’s face. That look of realization. She had looked down at her organs now hanging out of her stomach and grabbed at them like she was going to try and put them back in, then looked at me and my sisters with the most agonized face I’ve ever seen on her before.” She dipped her head and swallowed thickly, blinking back tears. “I think--I think she thought she failed us.”

After a moment of silence, Catalina swiftly wiped her eyes, sniffled, and then pointed to the next girl. Her wings were narrow but shiny and the color of raw salmon and hibiscus flowers. Her tree bark brown eyes were calculating and calm, but her smile was bright and beaming.

“That’s Maria. My oldest sister. She was like the voice of reason for the group, but she always got dragged into mischief anyway. She was also really good at getting us out of trouble. Except that time Juana mooned our history tutor.” She laughed, tracing her fingers over Maria’s long brown hair. “After Juana died, she became a lot more protective over me and my sister. I never thought she was going to challenge Mother, but she did when I was sixteen. Because Mother gave birth to another female child. A healthy baby girl. But, three days after she was born, she just--disappeared. One night, she was there, and then the next morning she wasn’t. Nobody ever said anything about her again, but Maria was furious because she _knew_ Mother had killed our baby sister.” She swallowed thickly. “Maria was never a fighter. She was good at non-lethal combat, not--not what the challenge for the throne was. After she was beaten senselessly, cut up and bleeding all over the sand, she _begged_ Mother for her life, saying she forfeit the challenge and wouldn’t try to overthrow her again. And Mother _decapitated her_.”

With the sadness of losing her sisters came anger, and Katherine saw Catalina grip the sides of the painting tightly and grit her teeth in rage.

Catalina pointed to the last girl. Her wings were fluffy and a goldfish orange color. She was small and had large, innocent dark amber eyes and sun-kissed brown hair she kept up in a messy bun.

“That’s Isabella Jr. Pretentious of Mother to name her that, huh? We just call her Izzy.” Catalina said. “Izzy’s the youngest out of the four of us. She was always worried in a cute way and was super smart. After Maria died, she became a lot more clingy towards me. I let her sleep in my bed at night because she was too scared to sleep alone. Not that I blamed her. Mother always looked at us like she was just daring us to challenge her. It scared the poor thing.” She shook her head. “But then I ran away. I left Izzy alone. I didn’t tell her where I was going or what I was doing, I didn’t even leave her a note or ask her to come along. I just--left.”

She gently touched her pregnant belly. “I hope they aren’t a girl. I can’t stand the thought of Mother doing something to them to get rid of competition.”

She shook her head and looked up at Katherine, her eyes shining in the candlelight. “This may be my home, but this is not my family. You and Joan are.”


	11. Chapter 11

Katherine let out a sharp yelp as she was suddenly thrown across the dunes. The Sand Snake she had been riding does a sharp U-turn and dashed back over to her. Both it and Catalina looked thoroughly amused.

“You good?” Catalina peered down at her. 

Katherine spat out some sand. “Yeah,” She grunted, rising to her feet.

Sand Snake surfing was a lot harder than the Aasimars made it out to be. Way harder. She could barely even balance on the round board they had to stand on, and the harness pulled tightly at her hips as the serpent glided through the sand, but this mode of transportation was much better than walking, so she got back on.

“Will YOU be okay?” Katherine asked, eyeing Catalina’s stomach.

Catalina laughed. “I am a PRO, Kat. I’ll be fine.” She pat the side of her bright red Sand Snake. “Come on, let’s keep going.”

The Snakes took off once again, and Katherine jerked forward with them. She wobbled on the board, grabbing onto the rope bridled to the horn of her serpent for balance. She felt like she was gliding through water.

“What exactly are we looking for out here?” Katherine asked. All she saw in every direction were sand dunes, cacti, shrubs, and more sand dunes. There were a few pillars of old, long-fallen buildings, but nothing more.

“Uhh… I’m not actually sure!” Catalina answered her, riding next to her. “There’s the giant scorpions and serpents, but I don’t think they’re the beasts we’re looking for. There was also the Brazen Bull, but it’s been dead for centuries.” She thought for a moment. “Oh, and there’s Parthenais, Lord of The Skies!”

“Excuse me?”

A roar shook the dunes.

An ear splitting roar that might have rendered Katherine deaf if she were any closer. She instinctively reared back, nearly falling off of the board, and closed her eyes when sand billowed straight into her face. When they open again, they go wide at the sight of the beast lumbering in the distance.

Up ahead was a circular plate of sandstone raised above the ground, bearing thriving palm trees and lush greenery. Atop it sat a giant creature, its brass-colored scales shimmering in the sunlight. It stretched out huge, triangular wings that connected all the way down to the base of its webbed tail, making them look even bigger than they already were. Then, it pumped its giant wings and leapt into the air, blocking out the sun with its massive body.

The serpents came to a halt as the Brass Dragon swooped down in front of them. A tidal wave of sand splashed up into the air, and Katherine had to shield her face away from the spray. When she recovered, she looked up at the towering beast looming over her.

After a moment of staring with glittering orange eyes, the dragon moved again, slowly lowering its head to bump Catalina affectionately. Catalina laughed loudly and threw her arms around its large head. 

“Parthenais!” Catalina cried in glee. “It’s so good to see you again!”

The dragon, Parthenais, growled happily. It flicked its small ears towards Katherine and looked at her.

“Oh, this is Katherine,” Catalina introduced her. “She’s my friend.”

Parthenais extended her snout out to Katherine and nudged her gently before churring in a sort of approval and turning back to Catalina.

“I’m sorry I was gone for so long,” Catalina said, stroking the scaly plates curving from the sides of Parthenais’ head. “I just had to get away from my dumb family.”

Parthenais rumbled. Slowly, she got down on her front knees, lowering her huge body to lay like a horse on the ground, tucking both legs underneath herself. Folding her massive wings in close and curling her tail inwards, she now looked like a peaceful and happy giant scaly dragon loaf in the dunes. Katherine had to shield her eyes again when sand exploded up into the air for a second time upon the dragon deciding to lounge in front of her and Catalina.

“You never said you had a pet dragon,” Katherine said to Catalina.

Catalina laughed. “You never asked!” She said back. She looked up at Parthenais. “Par isn’t really my pet. More like a friend.” She scratched under Parthenais’ chin.

Parthenais leaned forward and nudged Catalina’s belly with her nose. Catalina laughed lightly.

“I’m gonna be a mom soon, Par,” Catalina told the dragon. “But first I have to save the world!” She grinned. “So, have you seen anything suspicious around here? Our mission is to slay the beasts in each of the territories, and we’re starting here.”

Parthenais churred, then lowered one wing. Catalina perked up and clambered onto her back, while Katherine just stared at her with wide eyes. Catalina laughed.

“What are you waiting for? Come on!”

Katherine had never thought she would ever ride a dragon, yet here she now was.

“Oh my god!!!” She screamed as Parthenais zipped through the clear blue sky. She gripped tightly onto one of the ridges along the dragon’s back, shrieking. Catalina howled with laughter at her side.

“Isn’t this incredible?!” Catalina shouted over the wind whipping past them.

“This is insane!!” Katherine cried.

“I know!!!”

Parthenais wheeled around in the sky, nearly flinging Katherine off, and landed heavily in the sand. They were now in front of a narrow valley carved into from Highland Cliffs, opening up into the mesas above. The smell of roasting meat whisked out through the gorge.

“Something is in there?” Catalina asked Parthenais, and Parthenais bobbed her head with a growl. “Alright. We’ll look into it. Come on, Kat.”

Katherine and Catalina ventured into the valley. Katherine was surprised to find that it was a lot cooler in there than out in the dunes, most likely because of the rocky overhangs blocking out the sun from above. Shifting sand turned to sturdy sandstone beneath their feet as they walked through the gorge, deeper and deeper until they came to a small clearing. Several stone shelves jutted out from the wall, sprinkling down sand in golden waterfalls. White tents were set up on one of the larger platforms around a fire, which had been burned out and abandoned. Strange sculptures made from dried wet sand formed squatting wolf-pigs on almost every ledge, staring down at them with dulled coal eyes. Strings of bones and feathers were strung up from wall-to-wall, rattling softly in the breeze. A stone entrance lied ahead, beneath an overhang, where the smell of meat was coming from.

Catalina clenched her fists at her side. “This is one of Henry’s strongholds. He’s fucking set up on my land.” She growled. “We have to take it out, Kat. We can’t let them stay here.”

“I know,” Katherine said. “But let’s be smart about this, okay? We should just rush in there; we don’t know how many there are inside.”

Catalina took a deep, calming breath and nodded. “Right. Got it. Let’s make a plan and kill these bastards.”

\--

One of the wolf-pig statues fell from a ledge and shattered into sandy pieces across the red stone floor. It wasn’t very noisy when it broke apart, but it had hit a strand of bones when it fell and alerted one of the guards inside. The human man went to go investigate, and got a chunk of rock put through his throat when Katherine jumped down from the ledge. When the second guard from inside, a Gith man, heard the commotion, Catalina snuck up behind him and slit his throat before he could yell for the others.

“Come on,” Catalina whispered.

They slowly slunk inside the large circular room where a rock pedestal stood at the very center. A boar was roasting on a spit over a fire, turning slowly- the source of the smell. All the soldiers inside whipped their head around, and Katherine reached out to the land, and the wind, and the very heat of the sun cradled in the ground’s memory. She clenched her shaking fists and unleashed them all. 

The shabby tents set up against the walls quaked and lost structure, toppling in on themselves while several of the soldiers were impaled by stone spikes that shot out of the ground. The wind buffeted those who tried to escape the chaos and kept the unfortunate souls corralled in the center of the fray.

She spied a high elf shaman, old as time itself, attempting to shout his ritual words over the din, but the wind cut off his words and a vortex surrounded him, choking the air from his lungs.

Eventually the righteous anger of the earth subsided, and what was left were shambles. Many of the soldiers lay unmoving, choked and bludgeoned to death by the Wind Wall spell, while a few crawl about and attempt to rouse their fallen allies or see to their own wounds. Organs and shiny red blood dripped down from stone spikes, pooling across the ground. Catalina wiped her sword’s stained blade against the fur armor of one of the fallen men. Neither of them felt guilty for their actions; Henry’s soldiers brought this fury down upon themselves from the moment they joined his army, and they were merely the vessel.

Beneath the smell of roasting meat, was the smell of blood. Not fresh blood. Old, decaying blood. There was a banner of a wolf-pig up on the wall, and Katherine swept it aside, revealing a small passageway. The smell of death hit her in a thick wave and she wrinkled her nose.

She and Catalina walked down the rocky hallway and into a small room. The smell of death was much stronger in there.

“I don’t know if I want to light a torch, Kat…”

But Catalina did, and her light shone on a stalagmite, the hair of its occupant casting shadows like sharp quills on the blood-spattered wall behind it. Katherine stepped forward, overtaken by morbid curiosity.

The person’s head hung back at an unnatural angle, and his chest was still. Long, sinuous wounds ran in bloody furrows down the victim’s back.

“They tore his wings out.”

Catalina’s light shone down to the Aasimar’s slumped form. The feathers usually on the shoulder blades had been brutally ripped out, leaving gaping crimson holes in the flesh.

Suddenly, Catalina careened over to the side and vomited on the floor. Katherine turned to her with a worried frown and began to rub her back, sweeping her hair out of the way.

“Are you alright?” Katherine asked softly.

“Shit,” Catalina whispered, wiping a hand over her mouth. “This shit is so fucking wrong. My people-- He was my--” She shook her head, spitting out some bile. “Sorry. I lost my shit for a moment.”

“It’s alright, love,” Katherine assured her. “Come on. Let's get out of here.”

They quickly walked out of the stronghold and through the valley, where Parthenais was waiting. They climbed back onto the dragon’s back, and Catalina asked to go back to Aragon. Her expression was furious.

“How come Parthenais didn’t just go and kill those men?” Katherine asked during the fly back.

“Par doesn’t kill living things,” Catalina answered. “Unless it’s for food, of course. So that’s why we had to do it.” She clenched her fists. “And I’m glad for that, too. Those bastards should be dying by my hand for what they’ve done.”

The moment Parthenais landed in front of Aragon, Catalina was off the dragon’s back and running through the city. Katherine raced after her, and stumbled into the palace to find Catalina already yelling at her parents.

“He’s here! Henry is on our land!”

The King and Queen blinked at her. Katherine came up next to Catalina as she continued to shout.

“Lower your voice, child,” Ferdinand said.

“What are you talking about?” Isabella asked.

“Henry! The evil king who’s killing everyone and started a war! He’s here in Braze!” Catalina said. “Kat and I just went to one of his strongholds and took it out. They KILLED one of our people! TORTURED HIM!”

“Oh, we know,” Isabella said. 

“That was Ilam, wasn’t it?” Ferdinand looked to his wife for confirmation, and she nodded.

“Yes. We handed him over a week ago when he kept spying on the stronghold.” Isabella said. “I guess he got what he wanted in the end. Got to go inside their base.”

Catalina was tense at Katherine’s side, and Katherine could practically see the gears turning in her head as she pieced the information together. Her eyes widened.

“Mother, Father,” The princess whispered, “what are you talking about?”

Isabella looked at Catalina calmly and said, “We work for Henry.”


	12. Chapter 12

“You WHAT?!”

Isabella winced at Catalina’s shrill tone, ruffling her feathers in agitation. Today, she was dressed in a long, flowing copper dress with onyxes embedded into the fabric around the train and bust. Ruby rings clicked against the arms of her throne as she tapped her fingers in annoyance.

“Child, please,” The queen said, rubbing her temples. “Lower your voice. You are being terribly noisy and it’s starting to give me a headache.”

“You work for HENRY?!” Catalina yelped loudly, ignoring her mother’s words. “Wh-why?!”

“Support, of course.” Isabella answered as if that should have been obvious to her daughter. “And power. And treasure.” She examined her shiny rings with a crooked smile. “The deal was that if we let Henry fight and take shelter on our land, he would pay us handsomely. And pay he did.”

Ferdinand grinned toothily at her side, running his fingers over the golden chains hanging around his neck.

“When did this happen?” Catalina asked.

Isabella narrowed her eyes. “Why does it matter to you? You ran away. This is hardly your home anymore after you left us.”

Catalina winced, but Katherine could see phoenix gold feathers bristling out of the back of her tunic.

“Regardless of if it’s my home or not, I will not let it fall beneath Henry.” Catalina said. “You can’t keep this deal up. Henry is awful. His soldiers tortured Ilam, who you GAVE TO THEM! They ripped his wings out!”

“That was his own fault,” Isabella said breezily. “He shouldn’t have been getting involved in the troops anyway.”

“He’s one of our PEOPLE! YOUR people! You’re his queen and you–”

“Hush up!” Isabella roared. “I will not allow you to speak to me this way any longer!”

“I think what Catalina is just trying to say is,” Katherine said, stepping in calmly, “that Henry shouldn’t be trusted and she’s worried over the safety of you and the other people here.”

“Shut your mouth, Dagger-Head.” Isabella snapped. “Stay out of this.”

At her side, Catalina’s expression contorted with pure rage, fury flashing in her eyes. Feathers bristled up further as she yelled, “You will NOT speak to my sister that way!”

There was a beat of silence as everyone stared: the guards, looking from between the princess to the queen in bewilderment; Ferdinand, blinking; Katherine, pleasantly surprised at being called Catalina’s sister; Catalina, seething; Isabella, glaring.

And then, Isabella snorted.

“Your _sister_?” The queen snorted again. “Don’t you want to know where your REAL sister is?”

Catalina went silent.

A minute later, Katherine and Catalina were being led down a side hallway by Isabella. They were taken into a room built around an oasis pool, which seemed to be steaming with warm water. Bristling aloe vera plants were bunched in the spaces between white-clothed beds, and sandstone shelves were neatly packed full of vials and plants with healing remedies. Two Aasimar nurses were inside, one with dark skin and one with greenish-grey skin. There was only one patient in the bed, a small Aasimar with faintly tangerine tanned skin and wings the color of goldfish scales.

“Izzy!!”

Catalina raced across the space, startling one nurse into nearly toppling into the pool. She dropped to her knees and clasped one of her unconscious little sister’s hands in both of hers.

Katherine walked over, and realized just how young Izzy really was. She was only slightly older than Joan, maybe sixteen or barely seventeen. Her face was youthful and round, with sprinkles of dark freckles all over her nose and cheeks. Bandages were bright white against her orangey skin, wrapped tightly around her chest, left leg, and right wing. A fresh scratch was across her throat, but didn’t look deep enough to do any real damage.

“The other side did this to your precious little sister,” Isabella said, looming over the bed. There wasn’t an ounce of concern in her eyes when she looked down at her youngest child. “And it was Henry’s troops that brought her back here instead of leaving her out in the sun to die. They definitely sound very cruel.”

“When did this happen?” Catalina asked softly, squeezing Izzy’s hand.

“A week ago,” Isabella answered. “I’m disappointed to find that she has yet to get up. I didn’t realize there was so much weakness in my bloodline. Though, I shouldn’t be surprised.” She touched the medallions around her neck and chuckled lowly.

Catalina growled softly, gritting her teeth in a flash of rage. Katherine knelt beside her and set a hand on her back for support.

“Has she woken up at all?” Katherine asked the nurses.

“She has,” The dark-skinned one said. “But she’s still very weak.”

“She may have to relearn how to fly,” Said the other. “The gash across it was bad. But it’s healing well.”

Katherine heard Catalina take several deep breaths to try and calm herself and she rubbed her back. “She’s going to be okay, Lina,” She whispered to her friend. “She’ll be alright.”

Isabella scoffed lightly, and Katherine glared at her fiercely. Isabella quirked an eyebrow at her.

“Do you have something to say, elf?” The queen said. “Let’s hear it.”

“When did Izzy start fighting in the war?” Catalina asked, stopping Katherine from snapping at her mother. “She isn’t a fighter.”

“Clearly,” Isabella said. “She joined a year ago. I’m quite surprised she even lasted this long.”

Catalina looked absolutely devastated. She ran her thumbs over Izzy’s knuckles, whispering things to her in a Celestial language that Katherine couldn’t understand.

“Don’t you see, child?” Isabella said. “Henry’s forces are good. He is treating us very well. And it was the other side of the war that hurt poor little Isabella II. They sure do sound like saints.”

Catalina shook her head. “I’ve seen what Henry can do. He kills people. Innocent people. He can’t be trusted, Mother.”

Isabella stared down at Catalina. “Hm.” She said, and then took out her hidden curved knife and began slicing through the bending membrane of Izzy’s right wing.

“NO!!” Catalina shrieked, throwing herself at her mother. At the same moment, Izzy jerked awake and began screaming in pain. “Don’t hurt her!!”

But it was too late. A long, jagged gash had been cut from the base of the wing, across the patagium, and all the way to the wrist, severing muscles and tendons in the process. Dark red blood rapidly began engulfing goldfish orange feathers until it looked like Izzy had actually been born with one orange wing and one red wing. After a moment of spasming in pure agony, Izzy went limp on the bed and Catalina lunged back to her, shaking her frantically.

“Izzy?! Izzy!!” The princess cried. Her little sister’s blood dripped down onto her trousers, staining them in dark, grueling patches.

“I’m not sure why you’re panicking so much,” Isabella said calmly. She wiped her knife clean on a bloodless area of Izzy’s bedsheets. “We aren’t losing anything. The stronghold you and your little leaf-licking, oozebait companion destroyed was going to be delivering medical supplies that would help her. Not anymore, though. Might as well put her out of her misery.”

Catalina shook her head furiously. She looked at Katherine, tears brimming brightly in her eyes, and begged, “Help her. Please, help her.”

Katherine nodded and quickly got to work, joined by the other two nurses. Isabella rolled her eyes and walked out like nothing had happened.

Katherine and the green-skinned nurse began applying heated towels to the wound on Izzy’s wing, pressing down when the blood kept bubbling out. The dark-skinned nursed prepared aloe vera and gauze to wrap the cut with. In the middle of the procedure, Izzy stirred and her dark amber eyes cracked open.

“Wha…?” She slurred.

“Izzy,” Catalina perked up at her side. She cupped her little sister’s cheek to make her look at her. “It’s okay. You’re going to be okay.”

“L-Lina…?” Izzy’s cloudy eyes widened. “You’re…you’re back! You’re home!”

Catalina smiled shakily. “Yeah, I’m home. I’m here.”

“I missed you,” Izzy whispered hoarsely, leaning her head into Catalina’s palm. “I missed you so much…”

Catalina sniffled, fighting tears. “I missed you, too, sweetheart. I heard you’re fighting now. I’m so proud of you! That takes so much strength.”

Izzy beamed at that, despite the pain she had to have been in. “R-really? I was scared, but…I’m glad you think I’m strong.” She then winced, letting out a soft whine. “L-Lina? M-my wing hurts. R-really bad.”

“Shh, shh,” Catalina caressed Izzy’s cheek. “I know, honey, I know. But the nurses and my friend are gonna take good care of you. You’ll feel better in no time.” Trying to distract her little sister, she took one of her hands and pressed it against her belly. “Guess what? You’re going to be an auntie soon!”

Izzy’s eyes lit up as she looked at the baby bump. “Woah! Really?”

“Really,” Catalina smiled. “You’re gonna be the best auntie ever, right?”

“Right!” Izzy grinned weakly. “I’m gonna– I’m gonna…” Her head lolled to the side and Catalina went ridge, the color draining from her face.

“I-Izzy? Izzy?!”

Katherine darted to Catalina’s side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders to ground her in her panic. “Hey, hey, it’s alright. She’s just unconscious. She’s still here.”

Catalina took several shaky breaths, teetering on the edges of full blown hysteria. “W-will she be okay?”

“We’ll do everything we can, princess,” The green-skinned nurse said.

And they did. They really did. But the tendons and muscles in Izzy’s wing had been badly damaged. The nurses began to worry that she would never fly again.

“She’ll live,” The dark-skinned nurse said in a hushed whisper, glancing at Izzy in her bed. Her wing was wrapped up thoroughly, with stitches lying beneath the thick bandages. Catalina was no longer in the room, she had rushed out in tears a long time ago to be alone, but they all still spoke quietly to avoid waking the patient up. “But her wing… I’m worried it won’t be functional, even after it heals.”

Katherine frowned. “I see…” She said. “I’m going to go see Catalina. Thank you for your help.”

The nurses dipped their heads.

Katherine spent a few minutes looking for Catalina, but couldn’t find her anywhere. And then a pair of guards whistled to her and nodded towards a staircase that led up to a balcony. When Katherine walked up, she found an area that she could use to climb onto the roof of the palace, so she did.

There, sitting near the edge with her knees pulled close to her chest, was Catalina, her wings open and out.

Her wings were absolutely magnificent. They were the color of phoenix feathers, and the sunset beaming down on them seemed to set the plumage ablaze with glistening fire-like light. Deep golden yellow bled down into candlelight and dusky orange and turned to gradients of ruby red with veins of copper-gold streaking through them.

Katherine had never seen them out before.

Katherine sat down next to Catalina, and felt the soft feathers brush against her arm.

“Is she okay?” Catalina whispered.

“Yes, she is.” Katherine told her. “She’ll be fine. She’ll recover, she just–” She faltered, but had to break the news: “She may not fly again.”

Catalina sobbed softly. “Maybe I should rip my own wings off, then.”

“ _No_.” Katherine said instantly. “Do not do that. Absolutely not.”

“Why not?” Catalina looked at her, and her dark eyes held so much grief. “It’s what I deserve. I couldn’t protect her, even when the danger was right there in front of me. I couldn’t stop Mother fast enough.” She tentatively touched her stomach, then ripped her hand away, like she thought she may hurt the baby inside of her. She sobbed. “Kat, if I can’t even protect my sister, how could I possibly protect my own child?”

“Hey, hey, shh,” Katherine murmured, wiping Catalina’s tears away with her thumbs. “It’s not your fault, Lina.”

“It is!” Catalina cried, fresh tears exploding from her eyes. “It is, Kat! I can’t protect ANYONE!” She buried her face in her hands and shook her head miserably. “Do you know what Mother did after Maria died?” She peeked out and looked at Kat, despair written all over her expression. “She put her head on the Bull statue’s horn as a symbol for what happened when she was challenged. As a sign of her dominance. And she left it there until it turned into a skull. Izzy and I had to watch our big sister’s _decapitated fucking head_ rot out in the sun for weeks, getting her eyes pecked out and eaten by birds and her skin decaying right in front of us every day. We couldn’t even bury her with her head! Mother restricted us from taking it for the burial even though we BEGGED and PLEADED!” Her voice cracked and broke from her outburst and she sobbed. “And I couldn’t do anything about it. But now, with Izzy, I could have saved her from Mother and I DIDN’T!”

“Oh, Lina,” Katherine murmured, realizing how scarred her dear friend was. “Oh, honey… Come here. Come here.”

Catalina collapsed into Katherine’s arms, sobbing. Katherine held her protectively against her chest, rubbing up and down her back. She could feel Catalina’s wings twitch around her, soft and warm to the touch.

“It’s not your fault, Lina, it isn’t.” Katherine said. “You stayed with Izzy, didn’t you? You were there with her when she woke up. Did you see how happy she was to see you?”

Catalina sniffled against her collarbone, whimpering.

“You’re a wonderful sister, honey.” Katherine went on. “And you’re going to be an amazing mother. I know you are.”

Catalina said something watery in response.

“Shh, shh,” Katherine soothed. “It’s okay. Go ahead and cry. I’ll be right here until you’re ready to talk. I’ll always be here.”


End file.
